The role of religion in global sustainability: a study on Catalonia’s contribution to sustainable development goals

Abstract

In September 2015, the United Nations revised the Millennium Development Goals and set the global agenda for the next 15 years under a new title: “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The harmful effects of climate change and other serious environmental problems are directly related to human problems like poverty and malnutrition, making a holistic approach to Sustainable Development (SD) necessary. Religious leaders from around the world have signed statements in favour of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as peace, climate justice or environmental protection. Many efforts have been made by religious institutions around the world to promote these and other aspects related to SD. This paper presents the findings of a case-study to explore the practical contribution of religious organisations to the SDGs in Catalonia (Spain) by means of qualitative and quantitative research. The results of this study show that religions actively contribute to SDGs solving human problems and that it can be a field of inter-religious dialogue.