Thomas Berry

The THOMAS BERRY FOUNDATION and 
The FORUM ON RELIGION AND ECOLOGY AT YALE

The mission of the THOMAS BERRY FOUNDATION is to carry out the Great Work of Thomas in enhancing the flourishing of the Earth community. Created in 1998 by Thomas Berry, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, Martin Kaplan, and Thomas' sister, Margaret Berry, the Foundation has promoted Thomas’ ideas through publishing his essays and overseeing translations, initiating an archive at Harvard, organizing the Thomas Berry Award and Lecture, developing a film and a book on the Journey of the Universe, and directing the American Teilhard Association. In addition, the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale builds on the innovative work of Thomas in the history of world religions through a joint degree program in religion and ecology as well as through conferences, publications and a website.

The FORUM ON RELIGION AND ECOLOGY AT YALE is a principal program of the Foundation, and is directed by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim. The Forum was also created in 1998, following the completion of 10 conferences on World Religions and Ecology at Harvard (1996-1998), and the culminating conferences at the United Nations and the American Museum of Natural History.  The Forum highlights the important roles that religions play in constructing ethical worldviews for interacting with other people, species, and the environment. It has helped to create a new field of study as well as a growing moral force for environmental action.

The Foundation and the Forum seek to achieve their goals through four major initiatives:

1) Enhancing Thomas Berry’s Legacy

Over the last decade Thomas’ archives have been transferred to Harvard with the dedicated assistance of his sister Margaret. During this same period Mary Evelyn and John have edited four of Thomas’ books and promoted their distribution. (The Great Work, Evening Thoughts, The Sacred Universe, The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth). In addition, they have helped to organize the Thomas Berry Award and Lecture since 1998. In September 2009 they created a Memorial Service for Thomas at the Cathedral of St John the Divine that was attended by over 1000 people. They also developed and maintain the Thomas Berry website.

The thought of Teihard de Chardin was a major influence on Thomas and he preceded John Grim as President of the American Teilhard Association. John and Mary Evelyn now direct the Association, oversee its membership, publications, and annual meeting. They organized the celebration of Teilhard in 2005 at the United Nations and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine that commemorated the 50th anniversary of his death.

2) Creating a New Field of Study with Implications for Policy

The Forum on Religion and Ecology, now based at Yale, has helped to create a new field of study and teaching in religion and ecology that has implications for environmental policy. With its wide network of leading scholars it published the 10 volume World Religions and Ecology Series from Harvard.

The Forum has supported the first journal in the field: Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology. It now leads the joint degree program at Yale in religion and ecology. This is a master’s program between the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Yale Divinity School. There is no other program of this kind in North America or Europe.

The Forum’s comprehensive website at Yale provides introductory essays, annotated bibliographies, selections from sacred texts, environmental statements from religious communities, and examples of religious environmentalism. As part of its outreach the Forum sends out a monthly email newsletter and news articles from the United Nations Environment Programme that reaches over 10,000 people worldwide.

The Forum is participating in interdisciplinary conferences, both national and international, that are policy oriented. These include conferences with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Earth Dialogues led by Gorbachev, the Earth Charter, the Parliament of the World's Religions (click here for videos), and the symposia on Religion, Science, and the Environment led by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

3) Promoting a Moral Force for Environmental Action

The Forum is involved in expanding the network of international scholars, educators, and religious leaders concerned with environment and justice issues. To this end, the Forum is assisting with editing the Ecology and Justice Series from Orbis Books, which has 20 volumes, including Thomas’ last book.

The Forum was a principal advisor for the Renewal film featuring eight case studies of religious environmentalism in the United States. It held a major conference at Yale bringing together scholars and activists to celebrate the film’s completion in 2008.

4) Fostering Knowledge of the Universe Story

The Forum is collaborating with mathematical cosmologist Brian Swimme in creating an educational film, book, and website that builds on the comprehensive vision of Teilhard and Thomas. This project, called Journey of the Universe, is designed to foster broader understanding of the universe story and its implications for a viable future for the Earth community. As background for this project, we have created a network of advisors and organized a series of conferences with scientists and humanists at Whidbey Institute in Washington State. In addition, we participated in conferences organized by the Institute for Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) and by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on the Epic of Evolution.

This site is sponsored by the Thomas Berry Foundation.

Tax-deductible contributions to support the work of the Foundation and the Forum are most welcome and much appreciated.

Thomas Berry Foundation
29 Spoke Drive
Woodbridge, CT. 06525

The Thomas Berry Foundation is a private operating foundation with active programs in the field of Religion and Ecology. It is not a private foundation that makes grants to charitable institutions. 

For further information contact:
Tara C. Maguire
tcmk@aya.yale.edu