“Ecological mourning crosses the boundaries of religion and traditions”

Ecological mourning

Mourning our climate is an emerging phenomenon. People are becoming more and more aware of the severe environmental problems facing our planet. And just like with personal loss, they can experience sadness, anxiety and a sense of powerlessness as a response to deforestation, climate change, the loss of biodiversity, large-scale pollution and the extinction of species. “Ecological mourning in particular is also strongly interwoven with feelings of anxiety about more ecological losses in the future: more species will become extinct, more glaciers will melt”, says Aanen. “And the acceptance of ecological mourning is complicated by the guilt that often accompanies it: we are contributing to this ecological crisis ourselves, or have even caused it.”  

Since 2011, the Remembrance Day for Lost Species has been organised on 30 November. By now, it has become an annual event across the globe, involving a range of activities to commemorate extinct and almost extinct species: ceremonies, art exhibitions, candlelit vigils, tree planting. The annual commemoration day intends to inspire people to recommit themselves to protecting all that remains.

In 2009, the American Psychological Association (APA) recognised climate change as a growing threat to mental health. Since then, the phenomenon of ecological mourning has garnered increasing attention, in both science and society. Religious scientist Justine Bakker recognises this too. “Although we don’t have any concrete figures on the number of people suffering from ecological mourning, it is clear that it is happening. The number of people openly standing up for the climate in the public domain, like actress Carice van Houten, is growing steadily. Spiritual counsellors and psychologists are looking into ways to support people.”

In 2023, the Dutch Humanist Alliance founded the Klimaatvrijplaats (’Climate Space’), a series of supportive meetings for climate activists at risk of ‘climate burn-out’. The group jointly explores ways to remain hopeful and how to find a balance between major climate concerns and our connection with the here and now.

Strength and stay

”Attention for ecological mourning may be growing, but we still lack good, recognised ways of expressing it”, claims Johan Aanen. In his dissertation research, he studied how spiritual counsellors can design and implement ecological mourning rituals in a professional manner. “We recognise various ways to mourn a person: funeral services, condolences, the placing of gravestones and commemorating someone’s day of death. These are recognised and offer a strength and stay. But the lack of such recognised rituals for ecological mourning increases the chance of long-term mourning”, explains Aanen. “Rituals can help us give shape to our feelings of past and future loss in the climate crisis.”

The Good Grief Network (GGN) is a non-profit organisation in the United States that brings people together to process negative climate emotions that arise in response to the planetary crisis. GGN has developed “10 steps toward resilience and empowerment in a chaotic climate”.

Potential questions

Ecological mourning calls for new rituals, but that does not mean that these cannot take inspiration from existing ones. For example, on 18 October 2020 in the American state of Oregon, a funeral was organised for the Clark glacier by the Oregon Glacier Institute. In the town of Salem, a jet-black coffin containing melted water from the glacier was placed in front of the white marble Capitol of Oregon building. A moment of silence and a eulogy were held.

“Climate rituals take inspiration from religious rituals”, says Bakker. “It is interesting to look at this from the perspective of a religious scientist, as rituals like this spark a number of questions.” For instance, how do climate mourning rituals make use of religious traditions, symbols and meanings to give expression to ecological mourning? What role does spirituality play in the search for support and hope and in imagining, picturing and enabling a future? Does mourning together strengthen social ties and can this ensure a collective response to ecological challenges? 

In 1914, a memorial service was held in Cincinnati (United States) to honour the extinct passenger pigeon, after the last captive passenger pigeon, named Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo. People gathered in the zoo to reflect on the fate of the passenger pigeon, once an abundant bird species in North America. One hundred years later, in 2014, various memorial activities for the extinct passenger pigeon took place worldwide to symbolise the importance of nature preservation and biodiversity.

Climate religion

It is also interesting that people of all faiths and philosophies take part in ecological mourning rituals. “Ecological mourning transcends the boundaries of religions and traditions”, says Aanen. Bakker adds: “People often still think about religion quite narrowly. That it is something you practise in church or in a synagogue or mosque. But you can also see existential questions and questions of meaning crop in other places and at other moments, when you may not expect them: Who am I? Who are we? How do we relate to each other? And how do we relate to our natural environment and to non-human animals? What is the right thing to do? The climate crisis is also a crisis of meaning. If we look at religion too narrowly, then we miss the fact that people everywhere are looking for meaning.”

During the Herinner ons (’Remember us’) performance, which took place at a natural cemetery in the Netherlands in June 2023, miniature coffins for extinct species were set up. They symbolised a dignified farewell to species that have died out. At the start of the performance, a small coffin for the Dutch alcon blue butterfly, which became extinct in 1979, was carried in a funeral procession to the natural cemetery to be placed alongside the other coffins. 

Appropriate care

Aanen himself designed a ceremony for people mourning the historic Amelisweerd forest in Utrecht. Despite the many protests, a large chunk of this forest was cleared to make way for the A27 road. With the planned road expansion, an even greater part of the forest may still be cleared. “By widely recognising ecological mourning and by offering help for it, you can prevent the emergence of a complex, chronic form of mourning. Like a loss of perspective among young people, for example”, explains Aanen. “I recently spoke to a number of parents who literally said: my children are depressed because they don’t know what to expect of the future. Appropriate care would help in learning to deal with such complex emotions, which will only become more common.”