Religion and Ecology? Where do you stand on the issue?

Question

Clearly religions need to be involved with the development of a more comprehensive worldview and ethics to assist in reversing this trend. Whether from an anthropocentric or a biocentric perspective, more adequate environmental values need to be formulated and linked to areas of public policy. Scholars of religion can be key players in this articulation process. Moreover, there are calls from other concerned parties to participate in a broader alliance to halt the loss of species, topsoil, and natural resources. It is our hope to expand this alliance of scholars and activists by creating common ground for dialogue and creative partnership in envisioning and implementing long range solutions to some of our most pressing environmental problems. This is critical because the attitudes and values that shape people’s concepts of nature come primarily from religious worldviews and ethical practices. The moral imperative and value systems of religions are indispensable in mobilizing the

sensibilities of people toward preserving the environment for future generations.
Written by:Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim
Yale University

Answer 1

I always find it interesting that the three best known religions of present time, Christianity, Judaism and Muslim who's beginning comes from the Garden of Eden doesn't take responsibility for the demise of our world as we know it.

Answer 2

Well if you ever read the Bible you would find that we were put on the earth to be good stewards of the land. Our total disregaurd for the land was not God's plan for us. We were put on the earth to look after all the creatures of the earth and the land. That is why God threw Adam and Eve out of the garden of eden. The original sin of knowledge made us delusional to think that our own creations were more important than what God had made. So we disgaurded God and have been consistantly destroying Gods work ever since. Read Genisis in the Bible. I think it would be good if people would start reading the Bible and start being good stewards of the land. The problem is a lot of religion puts more emphasis on after life than the here and now. Christianity is a religion of the here now and after, but very few Christians actually read and study the bible like they should I am ashamed to say. People unfortunaly developed the concept of mine and would not be willing to share their religion even if it was good and good for the environment.

I doubt we could get people to mobilize. Look at the United States we are an industrialized nation that does not believe in public transportation. I always thought a good monrail system would greatly reduce people's need to drive gas hogs which are a #1 polluter, but would people be winning to break a bad habit. No because they are given no other alternative to make a living and we just are not a society that can really get along with eachother very well. We have to weed out the bad to get the good to do something about the situation. In our situation no amount of good and Godly reasoning is enough to get us out of the mess we are in. A boot to the can may be a better motivator.

Answer 3

Unfortunately religion deals too heavily with things that are not real to be overly concerned with real issues (other than their own power base).

It would be a great thing to see the religions of the world mobilise their masses and masses of resources to such a cause as ecological sustainability, but I for one can't see it happening.

Many are too heavily invested in the status quo to risk losing that power base via radical idological shifts, however they may pay some lip service to those idea's on the odd occasion (just to keep the punters happy)

Answer 4

The trouble is that most religions believe that the world was created FOR US. (only the more aboriginal ones tend to believe that it is our duty to live in harmony with nature.)

Another problem is the belief in a "judgment day" or the end of the world. Fanatical believers of some faiths believe that the end of the world will bring and end to suffering and a path to bliss for the faithful and either consciously or subconsciously act to provoke catastrophe. Belief in the end of the world is a self-fulfilling and self-destructive philosophy.

Answer 5

Most Christian faiths advocate some level of environmentalism based on the fact that we are the earth's stewards. Of course, most environmentalism is so zany and designed specifically for political purposes that have nothing to do with the environment, so much of it deserves to be rejected.

Answer 6

Frankly I don't see were religion in and of itself has anything to do with mankind raping the land. It is mankind over fishing the waterways, it is mankind polluting the air, it is mankind that is poisoning the streams with our chemical plants not for some higher moral value but strictly for profit.

Answer 7

For me god is a created one. Man created Gods demons devas etc, a good natured man is a god.
Christians say it is Jesus
Muslims says that it is Allah
Hidus say "Hey Ram!, Hey Krishna!!"
You are also a God if you help others.
If not just stay away and you are a Deva. If you spoil a good deal you are a Demon

Answer 8

i believe in the lord .he meant for us to live here forever. he also gave us the intelligence to do good things . we were born knowing right from wronge.weve done and allowed very wronge things to happen to our planet as a whole. we are all responsable for this world wide.we all need to get together for our own benifit and our future as the chosen race to correct these wrongs ASAP. MEANING NOW.NO MORE COAL.NO MORE CHEMICALS.PLASTICS THAT LAST FOREVER.....NO MORE OIL .CUT BACK ON EXCESS.AND WASTE.WE ARE KILLING OURSEVES AND OUR FUTURE .THE LORD IN HIS WISDOM WOULD NOT HAVE DONE THESE THINGS.WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE A REFLECTION OF HIM . LETS BE THE PERFECT REFLECTION. LETS MAKE HIM PROUD.

Answer 9

I'm old enough to recall ecologists being protested against by Christian groups so for me just seeing Christians no longer actively fighting against it is a major improvement.

Answer 10

It all boils down to loving God and expressing that love by taking care of all His gifts including nature.