Reading Laudato Si' in a rainforest country Ecological conversion and recognition of indigenous religions

This chapter considers what Laudato Si’ has to say about the dominance of the technocratic paradigm which, Pope Francis contends, has contributed centrally to the current ecological crisis. It discusses the role of indigenous communities in conservation of the environment, considering the issues of environmental and ecological justice. The chapter focuses on indigenous communities, mostly because they have not received the attention they deserve in religion and ecology discourse. While Norway is well known for its attention to environmental issues, connecting an attempt to save the rainforest with religion did not seem to have obvious relevance in that secular country. Ecological conversion requires something deeper than the creation of laws to control action deemed harmful to the environment. When religion is called upon to pay attention to ecological crises, the hope is that, by mobilizing its resources, it may help the ecological cause.