Orthodox Christian Material Ecology and the Sociopolitics of Religion

Aims: This project asks 'What role does the material ecology play in shaping the sociopolitics of Global Orthodoxy?' as a case study for global political discourse and the role of material in the social dynamics of religion.
Impact: Orthodox Christianity is a tradition based on discourse, but there has been very little research looking at the specifics of how it works. Focusing on discourse also tends to over emphasise words and belief. But what if, like Max Muller, we insist that religion must start with what is perceived, not with concepts like 'belief in the supernatural'? This means we situate discursive traditions like Orthodoxy not in concepts but in the material culture of local and global religious groups. This reframes how we understand religion, and forefronts the impact that religious practice has upon material aspects of our experience like health, the environment and geopolitics.
Context: Much social scientific interest in religion looks at the variation in the lived religion from one place to another. However, there are moments - such as in April 2018 when the President of Ukraine asked the Greek Patriarch to intervene into the Russian Church in the Ukraine - when religion can not be studied only in the local lived expression. Situations such as the conflict in Ukraine are complicated by historic tension between local Orthodox Churches. Disagreements in the interpretation of the theology of the body, person, and environment foment political tension within the Churches, between the Churches and external bodies, and between nations. The materiality of discourse must be seen as central to the form and practice of the tradition.
Research: Framed in terms of three research domains, this project focuses on the material conditions of Global Orthodox sociopolitics, conducting research amongst Orthodox Christians and religious institutions. The project investigates how the properties and affordances of the material ecology (including the body, the built environment and wider 'natural' order) shape and are marshalled within the discourse of the Orthodox Churches. The three domains are the Body, Person, and Environment. The Body domain addresses issues such as medical interventions, like IVF and organ donation, which are, across Global Orthodoxy, contentious to varying degrees. The material body becomes a place for negotiating ethical goods (eg extending life, fertility, honouring God). The Person domain examines the variance in permission different churches grant concerning family and marriage practices (eg divorce, family planning). There is also a mounting discourse around identity politics, with some voices pushing for an open approach to homosexuality and women clergy. The material of the body, person, and Church are marshalled as the grounding for historically contingent, philosophically premised, and scientifically inflected arguments for or against 'progressive' movements. Finally, the Environment domain examines the relationship between humans, specific locations, and the earth as a whole. Orthodox theologians highlight an emphasis on 'stewardship of the earth' and call for active engagement in ecological conservation. Issues such as Global Warming take an explicitly religious imperative, as scientific data points to human failure to fulfil their God-given role as caretakers. The control of land (including places like Crimea and Jerusalem) also becomes a religious duty with geopolitical impact.
Output: This project will produce one academic book on the material aspects of the sociopolitics of Orthodox Christianity, a book written for a general audience looking at key case studies around contemporary issues in Orthodoxy, six academic articles, white papers and policy advice on various issues relating to the health and wellbeing of Orthodox Christians and their homelands, and pamphlets written with stakeholder community leaders to help address social issues within the community settings.

In addition to academic beneficiaries, this project will benefit (1) specialists within stakeholder communities and professional practitioners in NGO's, community groups, and health and conservation authorities; (2) policy makers; and (3) members of the general public.

(1) Specialists within stakeholder communities and professional practitioners: This includes three overlapping categories of (a) clerical, (b) medical, and (c) environmental.
(a) For clergy (and others) involved in the official discourses of Orthodox Christianity the project outputs I produce (academic publications, policy papers, procedure pamphlets) will be ready sources of consolidated information.
(b) For medical personnel, of various kinds, the procedure pamphlets and my book on contemporary issues will help explain concerns and priorities held by patients and families.
(c) For environmental projects, including community groups, parishes and monasteries which operate as centres for environmental conservation, both in resistance to genetically modified (GM) plant varieties and in sustainable models of communal living, the network I will help establish during the project will offer a forum for knowledge exchange, collaboration and sustained support. This knowledge exchange will include, in the first instance, pamphlets on critical topics I will co-write with specialist stakeholders (e.g. religious & community leaders, practitioner academics).

(2) Policy makers: Case studies with impact into national and international policy (on, for example, health of Orthodox populations, diplomacy with Orthodox countries and refugee/migrant care) will be drafted as white papers for Westminster and European parliaments. Working with international collaborators, similar briefs will be drafted for lobbyist groups and congressional/parliamentarian representatives of stakeholder communities.

(3) General public: Public engagement events during the project will bring members of Orthodox Christian communities into discussions around key case studies, allowing the general public to shape the direction of project enquiry. The project will produce six articles; a monograph on the material ecology of the sociopolitics of religion; a second book, for general readership, based on specific case studies of contemporary relevance within global Orthodoxy; and various policy papers and information pamphlets. All off this will be made available open access, in highly accessible language, first on the project website and then via UCL Press. Similarly, a project website which will be updated throughout the project years will remain as a legacy site within UCL's web domain. This will be a site for the general public and other interested parties to access data, information and resources produced during the project.