Religion and environmentalism

Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theology amongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus. Within the context of Christianity, in the encyclical "Laudato si'", Pope Francis called to fight climate change and ecological degradation as a whole. He claimed that humanity is facing a severe ecological crisis and blamed consumerism and irresponsible development. The encyclical is addressed to "every person living on this planet." Buddhism includes many principles linked to sustainability. The Dalai Lama has consistently called for strong climate action, reforestation, preserving ecosystems, a reduction in meat consumption. He declared that if he will ever join a political party it will be the green party and if Buddha returned to our world now: "Buddha would be green." The leaders of Buddhism issued a special declaration calling on all believers to fight climate change and environmental destruction as a whole. This subfield is founded on the understanding that, in the words of Iranian-American philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr, "the environmental crisis is fundamentally a crisis of values," and that religions, being a primary source of values in any culture, are thus implicated in the decisions humans make regarding the environment. For example, a 2020 study shows that religion, as the primary source of values for religious people, can help narrow the political gap between liberals and conservatives over environmental protection. Historian Lynn White Jr. made the argument in a 1966 lecture before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, subsequently published in the journal Science, that Western Christianity, having de-sacralized and instrumentalized nature to human ends, bears a substantial "burden of guilt" for the contemporary environmental crisis. White's essay stimulated a flurry of responses, ranging from defenses of Christianity to qualified admissions to complete agreement with his analysis.

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Concepts associés (6)

Spiritual ecology

Spiritual ecology is an emerging field in religion, conservation, and academia that proposes that there is a spiritual facet to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of spiritual ecology assert a need for contemporary nature conservation work to include spiritual elements and for contemporary religion and spirituality to include awareness of and engagement in ecological issues. Contributors in the field of spiritual ecology contend there are spiritual elements at the root of environmental issues.

Écothéologie

L'écothéologie (anglais : ecotheology) est une forme de théologie constructive qui se concentre sur les rapports de la religion et de la nature, en particulier à la lumière des préoccupations environnementales. L'écothéologie commence généralement à partir de la prémisse qu'il existe une relation entre les visions du monde religieuses et spirituelles des humains et la dégradation de la nature. Elle explore l'interaction entre les valeurs écologiques, telles que la durabilité, et la domination humaine de la nature.

Stewardship (theology)

Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world, humanity, and the gifts and resources that have been entrusted to us. Believers in stewardship are usually people who believe in one God who created the universe and all that is within it, also believing that they must take care of creation and look after it. Creation includes animals and the environment. Many religions and denominations have various degrees of support for environmental stewardship.