Religion and the Environment

Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes

lyrics here

Humanities are the study of the human condition, thus animal humanities is the study of the animal conditions and the “different treatment of animals and humans” (X98). By now, I’ve written extensively on the treatment of animals, so I thought with this DB, I would focus more on the environment, which is every bit as important to me as those of animal issues.

Jainism is the most extreme example of a benevolent and respectful religion, believing that every soul is divine, and that no harm shall be caused to living beings.

It is widely accepted that “human belief and practice mark the earth”, yet the two most popular “beliefs” (religions) that dominate this earth say very little about the human’s practices toward nature and the environment. The lack of interest in the state of the environment could thus be attributed the little emphasis placed in these religions. However, the thought of giving back to the environment is not altogether new and foreign; in fact, “This moral concept can be traced back further: from Buddha to Hinduism and the Rig-Veda, the Indus civilization perhaps, and then to Mesopotamia and Egypt; while the Pythagorean school owed much to the Orphic religion, the Eleusinian Mysteries and the cult of Dionysus, which, again, can be traced back to Egypt.” (X110)

An image from ‘The Giving Tree’, a children’s book that depicts a rather cute, albeit accurate relationship between a human and a tree.

One thing that has always struck me about Eastern religions is their focus on “life, not the human person” (X96). To me, Western religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam deal more with the human and its relationships with other humans, and less with nature. They have “created a dominantly human-focused morality.” (X94) I always found myself more drawn to the natural world, which is why it was hard for me to believe and exercise “God above nature” (X94). I believe that one should respect each plant, tree, and river, and exercise “friendliness (maitri) and compassion (karuna)” (X97) to every living thing, because even without the function of speech and emotions, it is still “an organic entity” (Dick 198), which is what we all are.

With an entire platter of religions from which we can choose, it is easy to see overlapping morals and beliefs.

Religions which focus on the environment just as much as the human, I think, are much more in tune with the world, and are able to see the bigger picture. They understand that there can be peaceful coexistence, and most importantly, they understand that the right of life, which is universal in ever religion, applies not only to the human, but also to every single thing on this earth.