‘Eco-chaplains’ are helping individuals process their ‘climate grief’: NPR report
A new spiritual movement is growing, one designed to help people deal with their negative feelings about the planet being threatened by climate change. That's according to a report from NPR.
Dubbed "eco-chaplains," these novel spiritual leaders are being trained to meet a growing need to address "grief, anxiety and burnout" over environmental problems.
"Today, there are chaplains working at the intersection of climate, grief and spirituality in the United States, Great Britain, Australia and Canada. Most develop their own ways of addressing the issue, from one-on-one therapy sessions to online climate grief circles and in-person support groups," NPR reported.
The report noted how eco-chaplaincy is a 21st century invention, with less than 100 people believed to be practicing it in the western world. Multiple organizations have begun to train individuals in a type of eco-therapy "from Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and secular perspectives."
NPR spoke to Rev. Alison Cornish, a chaplaincy coordinator from Portland, Maine. She argued that eco-chaplains are needed because of the "demand to address climate grief, anxiety and burnout."
Climate anxiety is reportedly an issue for many people, to the point that the American Psychological Association (APA) acknowledged its existence in 2017, classifying it as "a chronic fear of environmental doom."
An APA entry from 2021 stated, "The planet is undergoing rapid changes that are unprecedented in human history. And as psychologists are increasingly aware, these changes can bring about great stress and mental anguish to all of us living through these challenging times."
As NPR noted, the APA found that two-thirds of Americans have experienced climate anxiety.
Cornish said her non-profit organization, The BTS Center – which specializes in dealing with climate change spiritually – had 80 chaplains register to join one of their programs discussing climate in 2023, a number she said was eight times more than she was expecting.
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The spiritual leader told NPR these curious chaplains "are asking how do we deal with regret, with complicity, with lament, with saying goodbye to species. They are creating rituals that honor all of those."
The outlet described how these eco-chaplains serve different generations of people.
"One consists of older adults dealing with personal losses of careers, aging friends and declining health and abilities. Many may also be mourning decades of environmental advocacy they feel has, for the most part, failed."
NPR added, "A second group is young adults frightened about the prospect of inheriting a planet beset by wildfires, floods and other cataclysmic effects of climate change."
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The piece also detailed how one of these spiritual therapy sessions works. It described one of the monthly Sustaining Climate Activists meetings, where a local group of people gather at the Talent Public Library in Oregon. There they meet with a certified hospital chaplain, Rev. Liz Olson, a Buddhist who leads them through discussions and meditative exercises.
During the meeting, the outlet reported how Olson taught the group to use breathing to deal with climate anxiety, as well as offering them a chance to share "whatever was troubling them."
"Participants sipped coffee, nibbled homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, passed around a box of Kleenex and examined a color wheel with the names of hues replaced by emotions — fear, anger, loneliness and anxiety," NPR said.
The report added, "They were a band of people committed not only to the same sweeping environmental issues, but also bonded by the pain of realizing their decades-long work to protect the planet had apparently made minimal impact."
Elsewhere in the piece, it was reported that the Sustaining Climate Activists group was created by climate activists in response to the election of former President Trump.
Co-founder Alan Journet told the outlet, "Trump’s election freaked everyone out. Group members wanted a way to deal with fears and anxieties about climate and politics."