121 Catholics and the Environment: Beyond Laudato Si
Who is Celia E. Deane-Drummond?
���We need to understand that God is somehow beyond creation and within it.���
Dr Celia E. Deane-Drummond
Professor Celia Deane-Drummond is currently the founding Director of the Laudato
Si��� Research Institute and Senior Research Fellow in theology at Campion Hall,
University of Oxford and an Associate member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion.
She was previously Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame,
Indiana from 2011-2019 and Director of the Centre for Theology, Science and
Human Flourishing from 2014-2019 and before that, Professor in Theology and
the Biological Sciences at the University of Chester from 2000-2011. She was also an honorary visiting Professor in Theology at the University of Durham, UK, from 2012-2024.
Her work at the interface of theology, ethics, and the biological and human sciences, including ecology, evolution, and anthropology, stems from her prior academic experience as a researcher in plant physiology as well as theology. She previously received doctorates in both areas of study. She served as a trustee of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) from 2019-2023.
Celia was chair of the European Forum for the Study of Religion and Environment from 2011-2018. She was the founding editor of the journal Philosophy, Theology and the Sciences from 2014-2023. Celia received the Civitas Dei award for contributions to Catholic theology from Villanova University in 2020. She is widely recognized internationally as a public speaker and has published hundreds of academic, pedagogical, or popular articles/chapters. Celia has either written or edited over thirty books.
PublicationsHer recent book publications include:
The Wisdom of the Liminal: Human Nature, Evolution and Other Animals (2014), Technofutures, Nature and the Sacred, ed. with Sigurd Bergmann and Bronislaw Szerszynski (2015), Ecology in J��rgen Moltmann���s Theology, 2nd edition, (2016), Religion in the Anthropocene, edited with Sigurd Bergmann and Markus Vogt (2017)
Theology and Ecology Across the Disciplines: On Care for Our Common Home, edited with Rebecca Artinian Kaiser (2018),
Theological Ethics Through a Multispecies Lens: The Evolution of Wisdom Volume I: (2019), Shadow Sophia: The Evolution of Wisdom Volume II (2021), Hilda Koster and Celia Deane- Drummond, eds,
In Solidarity with the Earth: Women, Mining and Toxic Contamination (London: Bloomsbury, 2023), Morality���s Evolution and the Transcendent: The Evolution of Wisdom Volume III, in press.
��Catholics and the Environment: Beyond Laudato SiPQF �� 121 Catholics and the Environment: Beyond Laudato SiIn this episode, Pamela talks to Dr Celia Deane-Drummond, director of Laudato Si about the environment. She explains:
��� How can we reclaim a spiritual and sacramental understanding of creation that is rooted in Catholic tradition rather than ideology?
��� What are small but meaningful ways everyday Catholics can live out this theology at home, in the city, or even in an apartment.
��� How does understanding creation as a dynamic, evolving process change how we treat the earth practically? Does it affect how we view waste, consumption, or even farming?
-What are three practical practices rooted in Catholic spirituality that someone can begin today to ���care for our common home��� without burning out or being scrupulous?
��� How does the Eucharist shape our relationship with the natural world? Can living a Eucharistic life influence how we shop, eat, and waste?
��� Which virtue do you think is most lacking in how we treat creation���and how can we cultivate that in daily life?
��� If a parish wanted to deepen its ecological spirituality beyond recycling bins and solar panels, what would you suggest they do���liturgically, catechistically, or communally?
Celia, an expert in faith and ecology, shared profound insights on our role as Christians in caring for the world around us. She draws deeply from Laudato Si���, Pope Francis��� landmark encyclical on the environment, a document shaped with the help of theologians like Dr. Drummond, who contributed significantly to its development.
At its heart, Laudato Si��� reminds us that God is both in creation and the Creator of it all. Every tree, river, bird, and person is sustained by Him. Celia beautifully explains that this divine presence invites us not only to admire creation but also to protect it with responsibility and love.
She reminds us that caring for creation is not optional���it is an expression of our faith. Whether through farming practices, shopping choices, recycling habits, or the way we source our food, each decision can either honor or harm God���s world. She also points to the growing challenge of environmental refugees, urging us to reflect on sustainable options that protect both people and the planet.
Celia encourages us not to lose hope. Together, she says, we can bring about change���step by step, choice by choice.
With Creation Day on September 1 and the Season of Creation that follows, this is the perfect time to pause and ask:
How am I caring for my home, my office, my neighborhood?What habits can I change to live more sustainably?How am I honoring God, the Creator, in my everyday choices?As Celia reminds us, we are sustained by God Himself. Our care for creation is, in turn, a way of sustaining each other and future generations.
ENJOYED THIS PODCASTYou might also like our conversation on��Confession and Why We Need It. And if this blessed you, please share the podcast with someone who needs it.
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