NOTUS asked 14 religious leaders this question. Dayenu’s founder and CEO, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, provided her answer.
Religion offers a foundational set of values and principles: a call to pursue justice, to protect the most vulnerable, to recognize that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity — to name just three. Our traditions generally do this with nuance, grappling with questions like: If resources are limited, who should we prioritize? What are our concentric circles of responsibility? But amid the complexity, the fundamental vision for a just society is clear.
Yet too often our political leaders claim a religious framework while simultaneously ignoring these most foundational values. They hang a mezuzah on their doorpost in a public ceremony while dismantling the legal frameworks that protect our Earth; they purport religious values while desecrating creation. They stage a photo op attending church with their family while stripping their constituents of food security and health care.
Such behavior makes a mockery of religion at a time when we so desperately need the vision of a just society, the faith in the possibility of transformation and the commitment to future generations that true religion offers.
–Rabbi Jennie Rosenn is the founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action.
NOTUS piece (behind paywall)