Enroll in these free courses from Yale University and Coursera to understand the ecological teachings and practices of religious traditions across the planet.
These Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) explore the ecological dimensions of the world’s religions. Developed over the course of several years, they draw on a rich variety of lectures, videos, readings, and interviews with scholars, religious leaders, and environmental practitioners from around the world. They highlight religious ideas and practices inspiring ecojustice movements in response to the challenges of the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
- Introduction to Religions and Ecology
- Indigenous Religions and Ecology
- South Asian Religions and Ecology
- East Asian Religions and Ecology
- Western Religions and Ecology
We recommend taking “Introduction to Religions and Ecology” first to provide context for navigating the other courses.
Completion of these five courses leads to a Coursera Specialization certificate. A Specialization designates a series of related courses designed to help a learner gain a basic understanding of a given topic.
In order to audit these courses at no cost, please first log in or sign up for a free Coursera account. After logging into Coursera, click on the course’s “Enroll for Free” button, then select “Audit this course” at the bottom of the dialogue box. The course specialization has a free limited trial period, but the individual courses can be audited for free indefinitely. The audit button will appear when registering using the individual course links (but not the specialization link).
For further information, see our FAQ Fact Sheet.
Coursera courses are flexible for your schedule and lifestyle. You can:
- Start anytime and work at your own pace
- Audit any course for free
- Take courses independently or together as a specialization
- Engage with an online community to support and deepen your learning