https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8816-7347
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Abstract
This paper examines how the eco-theology of St Francis of Assisi is translated into practice in Franciscan schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. We also investigate if the environmental conclusions of the Pope’s Encyclical, Laudato Si’, are understood by students. An ethnographic approach, using participant observation, interviews and focus group discussions with the friars and nuns, teachers and students, was used. We found that Franciscan religious practise Francis’s teachings, but it is difficult to bridge the gap between his teachings and the contemporary context. Students generally identify as environmentalists and respect the environment, but their environmental practice is highly dependent on home life. Both schools and students have to contend with a broader socio-economic context which is pro-Development, with scant regard for the environment. Student understanding of complex global environmental problems, and their causes, is minimal. Nevertheless, we argue the relevance of St Francis’s eco-theology in a world searching for environmental sustainability.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 On a larger scale, ‘relatively little social science research has focused specifically on the interaction of religious bodies and human-induced climate change’ (Haluza-Delay Citation2014, 261).
2 We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for this point.
3 See footnote 12 for details.
4 We reproduce this excerpt from the Sermon to the Birds here in order to convey something of the religious motivations behind Francis’s love for nature:
’My little sisters, the birds, much bounden are ye unto God, your Creator, and always in every place ought ye to praise Him, for that He hath given you liberty to fly about everywhere, and hath also given you double and triple raiment; moreover He preserved your seed in the ark of Noah, that your race might not perish out of the world; still more are ye beholden to Him for the element of the air which He hath appointed for you; beyond all this, ye sow not, neither do you reap; and God feedeth you, and giveth you the streams and fountains for your drink; the mountains and valleys for your refuge and the high trees whereon to make your nests; and because ye know not how to spin or sow, God clotheth you, you and your children; wherefore your Creator loveth you much, seeing that He hath bestowed on you so many benefits; and therefore, my little sisters, beware of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praises unto God” (Saint Francis of Assisi. cCitation1220. Accessed April 21 2020. https://www.historyplace.com/speeches/saintfran.htm)
5 It is worth noting that Chapter Three of Laudato Si’is cheekily titled “The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis”, in apparent rebuttal of White’s thesis.
6 Francis’s canonization two years after his death suggests he was not considered heretical.
7 Scholars have begun researching how Biology teachers reconcile this fundamental aspect of the Curriculum with the theory of evolution, e.g. Aini et al. (Citation2020), Rachmatullah et al. (Citation2018), and Rachmatullah et al (Citation2021).
8 There are three large groups of Franciscans. The first Order consists of Friars Minor (OFM), Conventual Friars (OFM Conv.) and the Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap.).
9 There is an OFM International Council for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office in Rome.
11 See, for instance, http://www.franciscans.org.au/laudato-si-week-in-new-zealand/; https://hnp.org/number-of-friars-increases-in-indonesia/; https://international.la-croix.com/news/franciscans-nuture-indonesian-youth-awareness-on-nature/10315#
12 The research was funded by an Australia Research Council Discovery Grant, DP130100051, titled “Fostering Pro-Environment Consciousness and Practice: Environmentalism, Environmentality and Environmental Education in Indonesia”. Field research in Indonesia with human subjects was approved by the Human Research Ethics Office at The University of Western Australia, RA/4/1/6573. Dr Suhadi approached the schools via the school principals, and was supported by his home university in Indonesia, Universitas Gajah Mada. Participants were provided with Information Sheets and gave signed, informed consent to their participation in this research.
14 According to government regulation, 30 per cent of Jakarta’s area should be “green space,” but until now less than half of that target has been achieved, namely 12 per cent (Febrianti, Pasaribu, and Sulma Citation2015).
15 Nevertheless, as Wilson shows, the Ahok incident was not a simple case of inter-class interests lining up with religious and ethnic groupings (2017).