What role does religion play in shaping our attitude towards the natural world? One answer was proposed in 1967 by UCLA History Professor Lynn White, Jr., who wrote an article entitled, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" (Science 155(3767):1203-1207, 1967). In this article, he said that the Western world's attitudes towards nature were shaped by the Judeo-Christian tradition (he also included Islam and Marxism within this overall tradition). This tradition, White wrote, involved the concept of a world created solely for the benefit of man: "God planned all [of creation] explicitly for man's benefit and rule: no item in the physical creation had any purpose save to serve man's purposes." Along with this, Western Christianity separated humans from nature. In older religious traditions, humans were seen as part of nature, rather than the ruler of nature. And in animistic religions, there was believed to be a spirit in every tree, mountain or spring, and all had to be respected. In contrast with paganism and Eastern religions, Christianity "not only established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted that it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper ends." White noted that Christianity was a complex faith, and different branches of it differ in their outlook. But in general, he proposed that Christianity, and Western civilization as a whole, held a view of nature that separated humans from the rest of the natural world, and encouraged exploitation of it for our own ends.
There has been much discussion of these ideas, and they have been both attacked and supported (some of this discussion is referenced below). But there is no doubt that this article raised some important questions. There is much literature on the influence of religious beliefs and traditions on a person's attitude toward the natural environment. What follows is a sampling of discussions of viewpoints of various religions, as well as statements by some religious groups on environmental issues. Some comparative discussions are listed in the section on books. Also see a pretty comprehensive bibliography on The Environmental Crisis and Western Civilization: The Lynn White Controversy, by Timothy C. Weiskel of the Harvard Divinity School.
Judaism Christianity Islam Buddhism Hinduism and Jainism Confucianism Indigenous Traditions Other Religious Views Books
But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you; the fish of the sea, they will inform you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Eternal has done this? (Job 12:7-9)
- Judaism and Ecology: A Theology of Creation, is an overview by Rabbi Daniel B. Fink, and a good place to start.
- Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life has a website with many resources. In particular, Learning: Jewish Perspectives on the Environment has links to a variety of essays and texts on the environment with respect to Jewish traditions and beliefs. For those interested in looking further, there is also a Bibliography on Judaism and the environment. "The Eternal placed the Human Being in the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it". Genesis 2:15.
- Each After Their Own Kind: A Jewish Celebration Of Biological Diversity [Excerpt], by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, discusses a Jewish understanding of biodiversity.
- Jewish Response to the Environmental Crisis is a statement found on the web of creation page.
- For further research, try this Judaism and Ecology Bibliography, prepared by Mark Jacobs.
And God created the great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the water brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Genesis 1:21-22, KJV).
- Christianity and Ecology: Wholeness, Respect, Justice, Sustainability, is a short discussion and overview by Dr. Dieter T. Hessel.
- A brief discussion of Biblical Views of Nature, by Dr. Marcia Bunge, challenges some of what Lynn White had to say, and cites Biblical passages to show that "the Bible affirms the goodness and intrinsic value of all living things; it points out commonalities between human beings and other living things; and it contains the mandate that we treat the natural world with care and respect".
- Web of Creation has the goal of "transforming faith-based communities for a sustainable world". Maintained by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, it has a great variety of worship and educational resources. Most of the participating groups are Christian, although some non-Christian groups are included as well. See their Table of Contents for many specific suggestions and resources on incorporating environmental awareness into worship and lifestyle.
- Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all of Creation, from Pope John Paul II's 1990 World Day of Peace Message.
- The Orthodox Church and the Environment is a good resource from the website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. See especially the Address of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, given at an environmental symposium at Santa Barbara, California, USA, in 1997.
- Declaration on the Environment is a joint statement signed by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in 2002.
- Ethics and Ecology is a paper delivered by the Reverend Thomas Berry at the Harvard Seminar on Environmental Values: "We have an ethics and a jurisprudence that begin with the human and determines our conduct in our relations with each other and our individual relations with the human community. These are our primary concerns. ...The natural world surrounding us is simply the context in which human affairs take place. Our relations with this more encompassing community are completely different from our relations to the human world. In the presence of the human, the natural world has no rights. We have a moral sense of suicide, homicide, and genocide, but no moral sense of biocide or geocide, the killing of the life systems themselves and even the killing of the Earth."
- The Orthodox Church and the Environment is a good resource from the website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. See especially the Address of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, given at an environmental symposium at Santa Barbara, California, USA, in 1997.
- Many thought-provoking papers may be found in The Occasional Papers Series of the Environmental Ethics and Public Policy Program at Harvard Divinity School.
- Reading the New Testament in the Environmental Age is a paper by David Rhoads discussing the treatment of nature and creation in the New Testament.
- Christian Environmental Studies Center has links to many Christian environmental organizations, thought-provoking articles, notices, and other information.
- The Evangelical Environmental Network was formed as "part of a growing movement among evangelical Christians to develop a biblical response to the disregard of God's creation. It was formed in answer to the recognition by many of the world's eminent scientists that environmental problems are at their roots spiritual problems, and require a response grounded in faith" .
- In Creation and God's Judgement:, Calvin B. DeWitt points out that "while we discuss "Creation" the real Creation is being degraded through human abuse, indifference, and negligence. While debating Creation, we often are on the sidelines watching its dismemberment if not participating in its destruction: permitting many species to be extinguished, not speaking out against rampant soil erosion, obscuring the testimony of the heavens with our polluting wastefulness, becoming the only occupants of the land, muddying the waters, trampling the vegetation, and much more."
- The Au Sable Institute has a great many books, papers and other resources relating to Christianity and environmental issues. There are also several Papers available online from the Au Sable Institute.
- The Bible and the Environment discusses what the Bible has to say about the environment from a Christian viewpoint. From a website by Target Earth.
- Hope for All Creation: Seeds for a Christian Environmental Ethic is an article by Catherine Woods Richardson in Millenium 3, a newletter sponsored by a group of Episcopal bishops.
- Christian Evangelicals preach a green gospel, an article on an environmental movement among Evangelical Christians, from High Country News.
- Tearing Down the Green: Environmental Backlash in the Evangelical Sub-Culture is a thoughtful discussion by Dr. Richard T. Wright, a scientist and a Christian.
- Scriptures: quotations from the Bible with environmental implications, from High Country News.
- Being Green in the Land of the Saints talks about environmental activism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).
- John Muir on Man's Place in the Universe: "Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit - the cosmos? The universe would be incomplete without man; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceitful eyes and knowledge. From the dust of the earth, from the common elementary fund, the Creator has made Homo sapiens. From the same material he has made every other creature, however noxious and insignificant to us. They are earth-born companions and our fellow mortals."
- Denominational Statements on Environmental Policy is a place for various denominations (mostly, though not exclusively, Christian) to post formal statements on environmental and related issues. Here is where to find the viewpoint of a particular denomination.
- Selling Pigeons in the Temple: The Danger of Market Metaphors in an Ecosystem by Timothy Weiskel, discusses religion, economics, and environment.
- For anyone interested in the relationship between Christianity, nature, and the environment, this "Short-Title List of Selected Works on Christianity and Nature", compiled by Timothy C. Weiskel, is a bibliography that will provide much food for thought.
- For further reference, here is a Christianity and Ecology Bibliography.
The All-Merciful has taught the Qur'an.
He created man
and He taught him the explanation.
The sun and the moon to a reckoning,
and the stars and trees bow themselves;
and heaven - He raised it up and set the
balance.
Transgress not in the balance,
and weigh with justice, and skimp not in
the balance.
And earth - He set it down for all beings,
therein fruits and palm trees with
sheaths,
and grain in the blade, and fragrant
herbs.
Of which your Lord's bounties will you
and
you deny?
55: 1-12
- For a brief overview, see Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust Inviting Balanced Stewardship, by Dr. Frederick M. Denny, on the website of the Harvard Forum on Religion and Ecology.
- Environmental Protection in Islam is an online version of a book produced in Saudi Arabia, and collaborated on by several scholars at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, and elsewhere in the world. It covers such topics as a General Introduction to Islam's Attitude Toward the Universe, Natural Resources, and the Relation Between Man and Nature, and discussions of pollution and conservation of natural resources.
- Islamic Faith Statement on ecology, in the website of Alliance of Religions and Conservation.
-
Man and Ecology: An Islamic Perspective is an article in Islam from the Inside Out.
-
Islam and Ecology, by Imam Tajuddin H. Alhilaly, Mufty for Australia
-
An expression of the Islamic view of the environment can be found in Guardians of the Natural Order, by Fazlun Khalid, director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science.
- For further research see this Islam and Ecology Bibliography (mostly non-web sources), by Dr. Richard Foltz.
Rajah Koravya had a king banyan tree called Steadfast, and the
shade of its
widespread branches was cool and lovely. Its shelter broadened to twelve leagues....
None guarded its fruit, and none hurt another for its fruit. Now there came a man who
ate his fill of fruit, broke down a branch, and went his way. Thought the spirit dwelling
in that tree, "How amazing, how astonishing it is, that a man should be so evil as to
break off a branch of the tree, after eating his fill. Suppose the tree were to bear no
more fruit." And the tree bore no more fruit.
Anguttara Nikaya iii.368
- Buddhism and Ecology: Challenge and Promise by Dr. Donald K. Swearer, is an introduction to Buddhist views on ecology.
- The Early Buddhist Tradition and Ecological Ethics is the text of a scholarly paper published in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, analyzing how the Buddhist tradition applies to an ecological ethic. Another scholarly article on Buddhism and the environment, from the same journal is Causation and Telos: The Problem of Buddhist Environmental Ethics. Others may be found by starting at the index page for the Journal of Buddhist Ethics.
- Pollution and the Environment: Some Radically New Ancient Views , by Dr. Ronald Epstein, is a paper on Buddhist (and other Eastern traditions') viewpoints on environmental problems.
- This extensive Buddhism and Ecology Bibliography, prepared by Duncan Ryuken Williams, will guide you to sources off the Web. Here is another bibliography on Treatment of Non-human Nature, from the Journal of Buddhist Ethics.
Earth, in which lie the sea, the river, and other waters,
in which food and cornfields have come to be,
in which live all that breathes and that moves,
may she confer on us the finest of her yield....
Set me, O Earth, amidst what is thy center and thy navel,
and vitalizing forces that emanate from thy body.
Purify us from all sides. Earth is my Mother; her son am I;
and Heaven my Father: may he fill us with plenty....
Atharva Veda 12.1
- A good place to start is Hinduism, Jainism, and Ecology, an overview by Christopher Key Chapple.
- Hindu Faith Statement on ecology, in the Alliance of Religions and Conservation website. See also, What does Hinduism teach about Ecology?
- The East is Green is an article on the environmental values of India, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
- Some essays on the Environment from a Hindu perspective, by Dr. Karan Singh.
- Hinduism and Ecology Bibliography, by Christopher Key Chapple, provides many references for this topic.
Confucius fished with a line but not with a net. While fowling
he would not aim at a
roosting bird.
Analects 7.26
If you do not allow nets with too fine a mesh to be used in large ponds, then there
will
be more fish and turtles than they can eat; if hatchets and axes are permitted in the
forests on the hills only in the proper seasons, then there will be more timber than they
can use... This is the first step along the kingly way.
Mencius I.A.3
- Confucianism and Ecology: Potential and Limits by Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, is an introduction to this topic.
- Pollution and the Environment: Some Radically New Ancient Views , a paper on Confucianist (and other Eastern traditions') viewpoints on environmental problems.
- Confucianism and Ecology Bibliography, prepared by John Berthrong, provides some sources for further research.
- Indigenous Traditions and Ecology, by Dr. John A. Grim, is a wide-ranging introduction to this very broad topic.
- Indigenous Environmental Network "A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions."
- First Nations Environmental Network, "Voices for Mother Earth," is based in Canada.
- What Chief Seattle Really Said: the full text of the newspaper account of the famous speech.
- For further research, see Dr. Grim's Indigenous and Ecology Bibliography.
- Pantheism is a religion/philosophy with ancient roots, and many environmental implications. According to the eloquent description on this home page, it is not polytheism, or belief in many gods, but a philosophy that underlies several religious traditions. It stresses a sense of awe and wonder over nature, and a belief that humans are part of nature. Its central tenet is that the universe is divine and nature is a sacred part of the divine.
Books Just a few books on the subject of religion and the environment/nature. Many other books and bibliographies are listed in various sections above. Suggestions for general introductory works on this topic would be appreciated.
-
Foltz, Richard C. 2003. Worldviews, Religion, and the Environment: A Global Anthology. Wadsworth Publishing.
-
Nash, James A. 1991. Loving Nature: Ecological Integrity and Christian Responsibility. Nashville: Abingdon.
- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. 1996. Religion and the Order of Nature. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Based on a series of lectures by the University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, this scholarly book discusses the relationship of Western civilization to nature, and the alienation of humans from the natural world. Professor Nasr compares several religious traditions, as well as the viewpoint of secular science, and tries to identify ways in which we can revive our appreciation of the sacred in nature.
- Rockefeller, Steven C., and John C. Elder, eds.1992. Spirit and Nature. Boston: Beacon Press. Chapters by representatives of several different religious traditions, including "Learning to Live with Less: a Jewish Perspective," by Ismar Schorsch, a chapter on "Islam and the Environmental Crisis," by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and "A Tibetan Buddhist Perspective on Spirit in Nature," by the Dalai Lama.
- Spring, David and Eileen, editors. 1974. Ecology and Religion in History. New York: Harper.
- Tucker, Mary Evelyn, and John Berthrong, eds.1998. Confucianism and Ecology: The Interrelation of Heaven, Earth, and Humans. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
This page is very much a work in progress. I would be very interested in hearing of pertinent pages to link to. I am especially looking for pages that discuss the view point of different religions and belief systems (especially Islam, and non-Western beliefs) with regard to the environment.
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06/07/06
The grizzly bear is the state animal of California, and is the bear on the California flag. There are no grizzly bears in the wild in California today. The last one in the state was killed in 1922, or possibly in 1924.