Bruce Clark, an international journalist with Reuters, the Financial Times and the Economist among others, was an active participant in theReligion, Science and the Environment symposia of Ecumemical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Photo: www.bruceclark.info.
Bruce Clark: How religion entered the climate debate — from the Amazon to Laudato Si’Bruce Clark
Bruce Clark, an international journalist with Reuters, the Financial Times and the Economist among others, was an active participant in theReligion, Science and the Environment symposia of Ecumemical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Photo: www.bruceclark.info.
Deep in the Amazon rainforest, on the waters where the Rio Negro meets the Solimões to form the Amazon, an unusual gathering took place in 2006. Scientists, environmentalists, journalists and church leaders had come together aboard a ship to discuss the planetary ecological crisis. Among them was an Argentine cardinal named Jorge Mario Bergoglio. At the time, the future Pope Francis was still asking why the fate of the rainforest should matter so profoundly to the Church, recalls journalist and author Bruce Clark, who was also present.
Nearly twenty years later, Clark returned to that moment in a video conversation, presented to the conference “Climate Change and Religion: Reflections and Interaction,” organised by the BlueLink Foundation and the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” on 7 October 2025 (photo above). Speaking from his home in England, he reflected on how the encounter between religion and environmental thought has evolved—and why it matters today.
Clark has followed this intersection for decades. As a long-time correspondent for The Economist, he has reported extensively on religion and international affairs. But the Religion, Science and Environment symposia convened by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I between 1996 and 2008, he said, remain among the most formative experiences of his professional life.
One of the most striking moments came during that Amazon meeting. Representatives of different religious traditions and indigenous communities gathered at the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Solimões. It was not a formal session but a symbolic one, shaped by the landscape itself. The encounter helped shift perspectives—gradually, but decisively—towards recognising ecological responsibility as a moral and spiritual issue.
A decade later, Pope Francis issued Laudato Si’, widely regarded as the most influential environmental document ever produced by a religious leader. Clark sees a direct line between those earlier encounters and the encyclical’s global impact. What began as a series of conversations between scientists and religious leaders developed into a broader rethinking of humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
At the Sofia conference, these questions were revisited in a different context. Participants from academia, journalism and civil society examined how religious and ethical perspectives can contribute to climate communication and public debate. The event formed part of BlueLink’s ongoing work to strengthen dialogue around environmental issues and to support climate and environmental defenders, including through initiatives co-funded by the EU’s LIFE programme.
The discussion also pointed to ongoing challenges. While global religious leadership has increasingly engaged with environmental issues, this engagement remains uneven at national level. In countries like Bulgaria, where the Orthodox Church plays a significant cultural role, climate change has yet to become a central theme in public religious discourse. At the same time, connections to broader Orthodox ecological traditions—particularly those associated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate—suggest that the foundations for such engagement already exist.
Clark’s reflections highlighted the importance of continuity. The dialogue between religion and environmental thought did not emerge overnight; it developed through sustained encounters, shared experiences and gradual shifts in understanding. As climate change intensifies, these long-term processes of engagement may prove increasingly important.
Watch the full conversation with Bruce Clark here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYJUgXgiVp8&t=32s
More about the BlueLink Foundation’s Climate Change and Religion: Reflection and Interaction conference at the Sofia University on October 7, 2025 here:
https://www.bluelink.net/en/novini/faith-science-and-action-unite-for-the-planet.html
*Pavel Antonov took part as a journalist in Religion, Science and Environment symposia held by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the Danube (2000), Adriatic Sea (2002), Baltic Sea (2003) and Greenland (2007).
