“The Assisi Declarations” and “Religion & Nature Interfaith Ceremony”
Aksel Johan Lund, PhD Research Fellow in Theology and Religious Studies, VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway
Rev. Aksel Johan Lund celebrates a ground-breaking alliance between world religions and the environmental movement
In 1986, on the 29th of September, a curious flock of pilgrims, consisting of environmentalists and conservationists, as well as leaders and faithful of the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish religions, approached the Basilica of St. Francis in the Italian village of Assisi. The pilgrims gathered in the church for an interfaith ceremony, where five liturgies from the five religions were celebrated simultaneously. The ceremony culminated in the blessing of the so-called Assisi Declarations - five declarations, presented by faith-leaders to their own faithful, on why conservation matters for people of faith.
The idea for hosting an event to serve as a touchstone between the world religions and the environmental movement, came from the then-president of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate the organisation’s 25th anniversary. His Royal Highness, himself a devout Anglican, was very much concerned with the role religions played in shaping worldviews and ethical decision-making. Religious communities are, after all, some of the most influential and broadly dispersed grassroots movements in the world. Although the rest of the WWF board was somewhat sceptical, Prince Philip was not the type of person one could talk out of an idea once his mind was made.
In many ways, the event in Assisi was a success. Similar events on a smaller scale were arranged throughout Britain in the following years, where the WWF and the BBC cooperated, alongside Martin Palmer, a key figure in Assisi and advisor to His Royal Highness on matters of religion. A network between the religions present at Assisi was established, and even more faith traditions would join in the years to come. This network eventually evolved into the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, launched at Windsor in 1995. And in my own research, I’ve demonstrated a trajectory from Assisi in 1986 through to another conference in Assisi held in 2024, where representatives from all major Christian denominations agreed that they wish to introduce a Feast of Creation in their church calendars.
The event in Assisi was a pivotal moment, both in the history of religious environmentalism and in interfaith dialogue. And it all started with a curious bunch of pilgrims, out to change the world.
