Rage against the Port City: Southern theologies mobilising for climate justice

Abstract

In the years following the physical end to the civil war in Sri Lanka, the island was beset with a series of infrastructure projects. One of these was the ‘Port City’, a project funded by the Government of China. The project has raised significant environmental concerns, from the detrimental impact of rock extraction on biodiversity and marine life, to the effect on the livelihoods of the fishing community due to the depletion of fish as a result of the mining of sand from the sea bottom. Visibly present in the protest action against this are religious actors, especially habited Roman Catholic nuns. This article, as part of an ongoing project that looks at environmentalism in faith-based communities, examines the impetus that drives such visibly religious persons to take part in direct action. The article does this to note how theologies that are ‘on and of the ground’, that is anti-colonial theological framings are central to the political theologies driving concerns regarding environmental justice. In doing this, the article is also arguing for a more central place for International Relations and Politics to be studying and engaging with anti-colonial theological voices, what I call theologies of ‘rage’.