Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Integral Conversion: A Catholic Pedagogical Framework For Teaching Environmental Sustainability And Ecological Citizenship From Japan, Michael R. Polito

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

As Vatican efforts expand to move awareness of environmental sustainability from the peripheries to the center of public consciousness, Catholic schools face the challenge of instilling in the next generation of graduates a distinctly Catholic sense of ecological citizenship. To this end, Catholic educators are faced with the challenge of presenting complex environmental problems in a manner that honors both the data of science and the transcendental worldview the Church proclaims. This paper offers a framework for examining environmental sustainability issues in the classroom from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. The author’s professional context of teaching Catholic social ethics …