Banners represent 26 Sacred Gifts celebrated at the 2000 ARC celebrations in Kathmandu
NEWS: JUNE 2009 THE LATEST SACRED GIFT IS THE FRAGILE JISR EL QADI REGION IN LEBANON, GIVEN BY THE DRUZE COMMUNITY, WHO STARTED A PARTNERSHIP WITH ARC IN 2003. READ MORE HERE
Every religion believes that the gift of life itself is sacred: we do not own it, but we have responsibility to care for it. It was this shared understanding that led WWF and ARC to create a special term of praise and recognition for major significant new projects launched by the World’s religions at a meeting in Kathmandu in 2000.
“Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet” highlights both the theology and the practice of caring for the environment which every single major religion now advocates and undertakes. The first 26 gifts were recognised internationally in November 2000 and a further 14 in November 2002.
'Sacred Gifts are catalysts for action. They are conservation templates for religious followers around the world' Dr Claude Martin, Director-General of WWF International
The recognition of these gifts by a major international environmental foundation – WWF International – and by ARC signals the full acceptance of the religious participation in the environment by the secular world – and the religions’ own recognition of the concept of “Sacred Gifts” reflects their commitment the urgency of the situation.
The following – which address a wide range of issues from climate change to marine conservation, from sustainable forest management to environmental advocacy – are some examples of these exemplary and highly committed projects.
December 2, 2009: Copenhagen: ARC Statement of Faith
Governments gather in Copenhagen this month to negotiate a new climate treaty to protect the living planet. On behalf of the world's major faiths, which presented their own long-term action plans on the environment at the Windsor Celebration last month, ARC invites the governments to join the faiths on the journey towards a more sustainable and just future.
ARC at a glance
ARC is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programmes, based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices.
