Almost all religions reflect on the creation of the universe, or universes, in different forms and with varying degrees of clarity or detail. Common across most religions is an agreement that “creation” is an act of God and should be treated as such. This rapid literature review collates evidence on the role of faith and belief in environmental engagement and action in MENA region. The review draws on academic and grey literature and finds an expanding evidence base on the relationship between Islam, Islamic thought and climate change. It also identifies emerging examples of green approaches to pilgrimage and the ‘greening’ of places of worship. Evaluations or assessments of these initiatives are, however, limited and inconclusive and much of the evidence is from a theoretical or philosophical position. Similarly, reflections on the traction of interventions such as the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change are mixed, identifying a lack of traction. The review draws particularly on the work of Skirbekk et al. (2021); Koehrsen (2021) and the UNEP Faith for Earth Initiative.

The evidence base on the connections between religion and climate change is wide ranging, including: social science research into how religious identity figures in attitudes toward climate change; confessional and constructive engagements of religious thought with climate change from various communities and traditions; historical and anthropological analyses of how climate affects religion and religion interprets climate; and theories by which climate change may itself be interpreted as a religious event.

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