Ecotheological Meaning and Environmental Preaching Practices among Religious Leaders

Abstract

Religion and environmental ethics have become increasingly important in addressing global ecological crises, as religious values are recognized for their potential to shape moral responsibility toward nature. Although ecotheology has received growing scholarly attention, existing studies primarily focus on doctrinal perspectives, leaving limited understanding of how religious leaders internalize and communicate ecotheological values through lived experience. This study addresses this gap by exploring the lived experiences of religious leaders in environmental preaching using an interpretative phenomenological approach. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with purposively selected religious leaders and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to identify essential themes. The findings indicate that ecotheological values are internalized through personal reflection and theological reinterpretation, while their communication involves navigating resistance and fostering gradual moral transformation within communities. These results demonstrate that environmental preaching is not merely a transmission of religious doctrine but a lived ethical practice embedded in social and cultural contexts. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of religion and environmental ethics by highlighting the central role of lived experience in shaping ecotheological engagement and offers implications for future research on faith-based approaches to environmental sustainability.