Koinonia Lecture: Religious Imaginings of the Future in a Time of Crisis

Global conflicts, the rise of authoritarian regimes and the Covid-19 pandemic have all contributed to a sense that our world is facing darker times. But it is the climate crisis that most overturns the optimistic ideas about the future that dominated Western thought at the end of the twentieth century. Into this crisis of “Western secular eschatology” have emerged numerous religious imaginings of the future. Some are sectarian and apocalyptic, contributing to the escalation of the crises. But others inspire hope and creativity for collaborative responses to our shared global challenges.

James Walters is the founding director of the Faith Centre at the London School of Economics and LSE Religion and Global Society. He is a Professor in Practice in the LSE International Relations Department and chaplain to the School. The Faith Centre promotes religious literacy and interfaith leadership across the student body and to wider global publics. It works in tandem with the Religion and Global Society research unit which explores interreligious engagement particularly as it intersects with the climate crisis. He is engaged in interfaith work across the world and has authored several books including Loving Your Neighbour in an Age of Religious Conflict (2019). He is a priest in the Church of England and a canon of Chichester Cathedral.