Environmental Ethics

1. Religion and
Environment

2. Starting Accurately
Religion has long been, and remains, a powerful
influence on how people think about nature and the
environment. All of the great world religions include
teachings that speak to ecological concerns. In this
chapter we’ll examine some important religious
perspectives on the environment. Let’s begin with
Christianity and then turn to consider some non-
Western and Native American views.

3. Christianity and the Environment

4. Christianity and the Environment
Has Christianity generally been an eco-friendly religion?
Not according to distinguished medieval historian Lynn White
(1907-1987). In 1967, White published a short article titled
“The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis” that set off a
firestorm of controversy. In that essay White argued that
Christianity is largely to blame for the world’s environmental
problems because it teaches a view of humanity’s place in
nature that encourages environmental domination and
destruction.

5. Christianity and the Environment
White draws attention to passages in Genesis, the first
book of the Bible, that seem to teach strongly human-
centered views of nature. There, humans are said to have
been uniquely created in the “image” and “likeness”
(Genesis 1:26) of God, making them superior to all other
forms of life on Earth.

6. Christianity and the Environment
In the first Chapter of Genesis, God commands the earliest
humans, Adam and Eve, to be “fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves
upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Later, after the great flood, God
repeats his commandment to be fruitful and multiply to Noah and
his sons, adding: “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be
upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon
everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into
your hand they are delivered” (Genesis 9:1-2).

7. Christianity and the Environment
According to White, for many centuries such passages
were widely interpreted by Christian thinkers to teach
that everything in nature was created solely for human
benefit, making Christianity “the most anthropocentric
religion the world has seen.”

8. Christianity and the Environment
Following the Scientific Revolution, White claimed,
humans used their new scientific and technological
know-how to cut down forests, pollute rivers and the
air, poison the land, and drive many animals to
extinction. The only solution to the environmental
crisis, he argued, lies in rejecting the biblical conquer-
and-subdue mindset.

9. Christianity and the Environment
Ultimately, he said, we must “find a new religion, or rethink
our old one”. As a church-going Christian himself, White
strongly preferred the second option, and proposed Saint
Francis of Assisi (1181/1182-1226) as the patron saint of
ecology. Francis preached to birds and sang hymns to “Brother
Sun,” “Sister Mother Earth,” “Brother Wind,” and “Sister
Water.” According to White, Francis embraced an unorthodox
“pan psychic” view of nature, seeing all things as alive and
deserving of respect.

10. Christianity and the Environment
While such an animistic view may seen more pagan than
Christian, White agreed with Saint Francis’s fundamental
insight that we must “rethink and re-feel our nature and
destiny, because no long-term solution to the ecological crisis
is possible as long as people continue to embrace “orthodox
Christian arrogance toward nature.”

11. Christianity and the Environment
White’s provocative article set off a heated debate, with both
defenders and critics jumping into the fray. Many critics
complained that White overstated the role of religion in
causing environmental problems. It was pointed out, for
example, that many non-Christian cultures, such as China,
India, and Japan, also have rather poor environmental records,
and that Greek and Roman thought also significantly
contributed to Western anthropocentric attitudes.

12. Christianity and the Environment
Another common complaint was that White offered a selective
and one-sided reading of the Bible. Many Christian critics
agreed that White overlooked passages in scripture that
indicated that humans should be good “stewards” of nature,
rather than conquerors and destroyers. Let take a closer look at
this important notion of environmental stewardship.

13. Environmental
Stewardship

14. Environmental Stewardship

15. A good steward, on this view,
would be a kind of faithful
trustee, someone who cares
for, preserves, and perhaps
improves the earth and its
ecosystems in a way that God
would approve. According to
many critics of White, when
the Bible speaks of
“dominion” it means faithful
stewardship, not dominion or
conquest. How convincing is
this claim?

16. The Bible teaches that God created the
world and is its true owner and ruler. At
the same time, God has in some sense
entrusted the earth to humans, given us
“dominion” over it. But this dominion is
far from absolute; God remains the
ultimate ruler of his creation, and he
imposes many limits on what humans can
rightfully do to nature.

17. For example, Adam and Eve were
commanded to “till” and “keep”
the Garden of Eden and were
originally permitted to eat only
plants. God also commands the
Jews to observe various dietary
restrictions, to have “regard” for
the life of animals, not muzzle an
ox when it is treading out the grain,
to let fields lie fallow every seventh
year so that the poor and wild
animals may eat, and not to cut
down food-bearing trees when
besieging towns.

18. Moreover, as the handiwork of God,
nature praises and glorifies its Creator,
manifests his wisdom and power, and is
regarded by God as being “very good”. It
would seem to follow from such passages
that any wanton destruction of nature or
waste of natural resources is contrary to
divine will, and that we should be instead
conscientious stewards of the natural gifts
and resources that God has entrusted to
our care.

19. Over the past few decades, stewardship has become the
reigning paradigm in Judeo-Christian thought. But there
are difficulties with the notion of stewardship that
should not be ignored.

20. For starters, of course, the whole idea of stewardship
presupposes a set of religious beliefs (e.g., that God
exist, that he “owns” the created universe, that he has
given humans “dominion” over the earth, and that we
can at least roughly know how he wants us to exercise
that dominion) that many people would reject. Pointing
to its religious underpinnings, the late Harvard scientist
and agnostic Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) rejected
the whole concept of environmental stewardship. He
writes:

21. • Such views, however well intentioned, are rooted in the old
sin of pride and exaggerated self-importance. We are among
millions of species, stewards of nothing. By what argument
could we, arising just a geological microsecond ago,
become responsible for the affairs of a world 4.5 billion
years ago, teeming with life that has been evolving and
diversifying for at least three-quarters of that immense
span? Nature does not exist for us, had no idea we were
coming, and doesn’t give a damn about us.

22. Moreover, as Gould suggests, most conceptions of
stewardship have an anthropocentric bent that many
environmentalists believe to be harmful and unwarranted. As
we saw, the Bible seems to imply that God has commanded
humans to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28)
because they alone were created in the image and likeness of
God and thus are superior to all other earthly life-forms.
Many environmentalists today believe that such views are
arrogant and self-serving.

23. Many critics would also question whether humans
possess the wisdom and ability to be effective stewards
of nature. Natural processes are often incredibly
complex, and history has repeatedly shown that when
humans try to “manage” nature we frequently end up
doing more harm than good. Given the dismal human
track record on the environment, one can question
whether an all-rise and providential God would have
placed nature under our dubious care.

24. Finally, the idea of stewardship is quite vague and open-
ended. A good steward would be one who manages the earth
and its natural resources in a way that God would approve.
But how can we know what environmental actions God
favors? How does God feel about nuclear power, or fracking,
or reducing world population, or damming scenic rivers, or
genetically modified foods, or trapping wild animals, or
driving gas-guzzling pickup trucks, or zoos, or restoring
wolves to the Great Plains, or building oil pipelines in the
Arctic?

25. Asking what God think about such issues is largely a
matter of guesswork. As a result, any detailed model of
environmental stewardship would inevitably be
controversial and rest on highly debatable theological
premises.

26. Non-Western and Native American Attitudes toward
Nature

27. Non-Western and Native American Attitudes toward
Nature
As we’ve seen, Christianity has a quite checkered record on
the environment. How do other religious traditions stack up?
Let’s briefly examine three Eastern religions or spiritual
traditions – Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism – as well as
traditional Native American thought.

28. Buddhism
The world’s fourth largest religion, Buddhism originated in
India sometime around the fifth century BCE and later spread
to China, Japan, Thailand, and much of Asia. Believing that
life is full of suffering and unsatisfied desire, Buddhists seek to
achieve inner peace, enlightenment, freedom from suffering,
and liberation from cycle of death and rebirth (samsara) by
means of meditation and disciplined control of one’s desires.
Buddhists reject strongly human-centered views of the
environment.

29. Buddhism
The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (c.490-c.410
BCE), forbade his fellow monks from practicing agriculture or
travelling during the rainy season because they might step on
worms, insects, and other forms of life. The first of Buddha’s
Five Precepts is to refrain from harming sentient life. Many
Buddhists believe that all sentient things have a “Buddha-
nature” that entitles them to compassion and respect.

30. Buddhism
Buddhists believe that loving-kindness should be extended not
only to our fellow humans but to all suffering creatures.
Speaking to his disciples, Buddha said, “As a mother, even at
the risk of her own life, protects her son, her only son, so let
him cultivate love without measure to all beings. Let him
cultivate toward the whole world – above, below, around – a
heart of love unstinted, unmixed with the sense of differing or
opposing interest. Many Buddhists are vegetarians, in large
part because of their belief in human and animal reincarnation.

31. Taoism
Lao Tzu reportedly wrote a short book, the Tao Te Ching (“The
Book of the Way and its Power,” now often spelled
Daodejing), which is the fundamental text of the Taoist
tradition. The central concept in Taoism is that the Tao, which
means “Way” or “Path”. The Taos is simultaneously the Way
of Ultimate Reality, of Nature, and the way humans should live
their lives. Though the Tao cannot be grasped through words or
rational thought, it can be sensed through intuition in moments
of quietude and tranquility.

32. Taoism
That is why Taoists have always valued peaceful forest and
scenic areas of unspoiled nature. They view nature as harmony
of opposing forces (hot and cold, light and dark, etc.) and seek
to live simple, contented lives in tune with nature. Believing
that a “good traveler leaves no track or trace,” they seek to
“embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, [and] have few
desires.”

33. Taoism
To symbolize their commitment to harmony with nature,
Taoists usually build their temples nestled against hills, or
shaded by leafy trees, so that they blend into their natural
surroundings. The central Taoist idea of wu-wei (literally “non-
doing”) emphasizes the value of “letting things happen
naturally” and without meddlesome interference, and idea that
resonates with much modern environmental thought.

34. Hinduism
Like Buddhism, Hinduism is an ancient religion that originated
in India. Though there are many schools of thought in
Hinduism, most believe in certain core doctrines. One is the
ultimate Oneness of reality. For Hindus, there is no sharp
separation between God and nature, or between humans and
non-human animals, because all things are ultimately aspects
or manifestations of one Supreme Reality. Such a view readily
lends itself to attitudes of respect or reverence for nature.

35. Hinduism
Like Buddhists, Hindus also believe in reincarnation. Certain
animals, such as cows, are sacred to Hindus because they
believe that various Hindu deities were once incarnated in
those animal forms. Hindus also believe that human beings are
sometimes reborn as animals. This is one reason many Hindus
are vegetarians and practice ahimsa (nonviolence and
avoidance of injury).

36. Hinduism
Traditionally, many Hindus have practiced a form of tree
worship. Believing that trees are conscious and symbolize
various aspects of God, they recognize religious duties to
plant, protect, and reverence trees and other plants.

37. Hinduism
Finally, many sacred Hindu text condemn materialism and
greed, and affirm the values of moderation, nonattachment, and
self-control. This is reflected in the Hindu doctrine of the Four
Stages of Life, where the final stage is that of a forest-dweller
(sannyasi). In this period, elderly men and women retire from
the world of work and family and live simple, austere lives of
renunciation, meditation, and purification.

38. Traditional Native American Religion
Native American attitudes toward nature are varied and diverse, but
as environmental philosopher J. Baird Callicott notes, there are
some widely shared themes. These include belief in: a Great Spirit
gives life, the Father and creator of all living and nonliving things,
often identified with the Sky, an Earth Mother, who together with
the Great Spirit gives life and connectedness to all earth-dwelling
beings; pan-psychism, the idea that all things -even material
objects like stones or mountains – are alive and endowed with
qualities of personhood; holy places – sacred locales of great
spiritual potency; the importance of belonging to, conserving and
caring for the land and natural resources; the impossibility of
“owning” the land in proprietary European sense; and the universal
kinship of all earthly creatures, who are all equally children of the
Great Spirit and endowed with a spark of his divinity.

39. Traditional Native American Religion
Environmentalist Karen Warren reports a conversation she had
with a Sioux elder that nicely illustrates the Native American
attitude toward non-human creatures. One day the elder sent
his seven-year-old son to a reservation to live with his
grandparents so that he could learn traditional Indian ways.

40. Traditional Native American Religion
Look into your brother’s eyes and feel his pain. Then, take
your knife and cut the four-legged under his chin, here, on the
neck, so that he dies quickly. And as you do, ask your brother,
the four-legged, for forgiveness for what you do. Offer also a
prayer of thanks to your four-legged kin for offering his body
to you just now, when you need food to eat and clothing to
wear. And promise the four-legged that you will put yourself
back into the earth when you die, to become nourishment for
the earth, and for the sister flowers, and for the brother deer.

41. Traditional Native American Religion
Recent studies have shown that Native Americans were not
always as earth friendly as has sometimes been assumed.
When European settlers first reached North America, they
encountered a landscape that was already extensively altered
by human activity. Native peoples frequently used controlled
(and not so controlled) burns to facilitate hunting and growing
crops. Their use of fire and hunting techniques, like driving
herds of buffalo off cliffs, often resulted in wasteful mass kills.

42. Traditional Native American Religion
George Catlin, who admired Native Americans and lived with
them for many years, wrote of the “improvident character” of
the Sioux Indians, who in one afternoon slaughtered 1,400
buffalo simply for their tongues, leaving the carcasses to rot or
be devoured by wolves. Still, there is no question that Native
Americans generally had—and have—great respect for nature.