Join us for an interfaith virtual panel discussion on veganism. This virtual event aims to create a friendly, pluralistic dialogue among clergy members of various faiths, exploring the ethical aspects of veganism from different religious perspectives. Thank you to Animal Interfaith Alliance for co-hosting this program.
Learn more about PAN here: https://peaceadvocacynetwork.org/
Learn more about AIA here: https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/
Panelists:
Bishop John Arnold
Bishop John Arnold was appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford by Pope Francis in 2014. Born in Sheffield, England, he has a law degree from Trinity College, Oxford and was called to the Bar in 1976. John entered the Institute of Charity (Rosminians) and began studies for the priesthood in 1978 in Rome. He also completed both a licence and a doctorate in Canon Law. Fr John was ordained priest in 1983 and Bishop in 2006, serving as an auxiliary bishop for Westminster Diocese. Bishop John previously served for many years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of CAFOD, the Catholic Church's aid and development agency. He is a member of the Bishops’ Conference Department for International Affairs and spokesman on the Environment and was recently appointed President of Catholic Concern for Animals. Motivated by Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls on “every person living on this planet” to care for our shared earth, Bishop John has called on the Catholic community to make practical responses to deal with climate change. In March 2019, Bishop John wrote to everyone in the Diocese of Salford calling on them to play their part in responding to climate change and to ‘think globally, act locally’. In the same letter, Bishop John announced his plans to transform his home at Wardley Hall into an ambitious flagship project, Laudato Si Centre. He expresses his thinking on animals and the environment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbu4zrYn7Cc.
Dr Christina Nellist has a PhD in Eastern Orthodox Theology and specializes in animal
suffering and human soteriology. She is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics;
President and Treasurer of Pan Orthodox Concern for Animals Charity; Board member
of the Animal Interfaith Alliance UK; Board member of The Orthodox Fellowship of the
Transfiguration in the USA, and Honorary Associate Life Member of the Progressive
Veterinary Association. She wrote the first Orthodox theological work on animal
suffering – Eastern Orthodoxy and Animal Suffering Eastern Orthodox Christianity and
Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology; organized the first session relating
to the animal kingdom at the first international conference of the International
Orthodox Theological Association and was invited to speak on behalf of the animal
kingdom at the Halki 111 Summit in 2019, and at the Ecumenical Patriarch’s residence
on Halki in 2022, where she argued the case for including creation care into Orthodox
seminaries and academic education programmes. She was a consultant on the
recent Face of God film – an Orthodox film on the climate crisis and has edited two
volumes entitled Climate Crisis and Creation Care: Historical Perspectives, Ecological
Integrity and Justice; Climate Crisis and Sustainable Creaturely Care: Integrated Theology,
Governance and Justice, both published just before COP 26, 2021. She is a former teacher
and coordinator for Science for L.B. of Havering, and the London Examination Board and
has worked with the governments of Chile, and the Seychelles on animal protection and
public health education. She was the British government’s Warden for the islands of the
Seychelles where she established the Orthodox Christian Community and the
SPCA; wrote the first special education programme for children with learning
difficulties and trained/sponsored government/NGO officials on the link between
animal abuse and interpersonal violence.
Dr. Will Tuttle, visionary author, educator, and inspirational speaker, is author of the acclaimed
Amazon #1 best-seller The World Peace Diet, published in 17 languages. Since 1985, Dr. Tuttle
has delivered 4,000+ live audience presentations encouraging compassion and vegan living, in over 50 countries worldwide and in all 50 U.S. states. Recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award as well as the Empty Cages Prize, he is the creator of several wellness and online advocacy training programs, and co-creator of VeganPalooza, one of the largest online vegan events ever. Dr. Tuttle is author of Your Inner Islands: The Keys to Intuitive Living. He is editor of
Circles of Compassion: Connecting Issues of Justice, focusing on the interconnection of social
justice issues, as well as of Buddhism & Veganism: Essays Connecting Spiritual Awakening and
Animal Liberation. He is the co-founder of the non-profit Circle of Compassion and the Worldwide
Prayer Circle for Animals. A vegan since 1980, he is a frequent radio, television, and online
presenter and writer. He is featured in the acclaimed documentary film Cowspiracy as well as other documentaries such as Vegan: Everyday Stories; HOPE: What You Eat Matters, and Animals and the Buddha. Dr. Tuttle’s Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, focused on educating intuition and altruism in adults, and his doctoral dissertation was nominated for the Best Dissertation Award. He has taught college courses in philosophy, humanities, mythology, religion, and creativity. A former Zen Buddhist monk and a Dharma Master in the Korean Zen tradition, he has created ten CD albums of uplifting original piano music as well as several spoken word meditation CDs. His book, Bursting Light has sheet music of 15 of his piano compositions, with 25 watercolor paintings by his spouse Madeleine, a Swiss visionary artist. He has also created Daily VegInspirations, a book of excerpts from The World Peace Diet with Zen brush paintings by Madeleine. Dr. Tuttle has presented extensively throughout North America and worldwide at college campuses, spiritual centers, conferences, and peace, social justice, animal protection, health, and environmental gatherings.
See www.worldpeacediet.com for more details
Rabbi Yanklowitz has twice been named one of America’s Top Rabbis by Newsweek and has been named by The Forward as one of the 50 most influential Jews and one of The Most Inspiring Rabbis in America. Rabbi Yanklowitz is the author of 27 books on Jewish ethics and his writings have appeared in outlets as diverse as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the Atlantic among many other secular and religious publications. He has served as speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and a Rothschild Fellow in Cambridge, UK.
Rav Shmuly received a Masters from Harvard University, a Masters from Yeshiva University, and his Doctorate from Columbia University. He was ordained as a rabbi by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, along with 2 private ordinations in Israel. He serves as the Founder & President of Shamayim: Jewish Animal Advocacy. His wife Shoshana, and their four children live in Scottsdale, Arizona. They are also foster parents.
