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T. A. Raman and J. M. Luetz
Introduction
Drawing connections between religion and the environment is not novel. Historian Lynn White (1967) claimed that the beginning of the notion of ‘nature’ as an
exploitable source of resources is found in the first book of the Old Testament:
Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all
creatures that move along the ground.’ (Genesis 1: 26)
While White’s view lends support to the understanding that religious beliefs and
commitments have a potential to negatively impact environmental concerns, others
contend that religion may generate a pro-environmental stewardship effect (Kearns
1997; Pepper and Leonard 2016; Woodrum and Wolkomir 1997).
Sherkat and Ellison’s (2007) contention that there is a positive relationship
between religious beliefs and environmental concern is supported by a UK study that
asked 20,968 Year 9 and Year 10 students to provide information on their concern
regarding environmental pollution, belief in God, church attendance, prayer, and
their view on creationism. The study found that “belief in God, church attendance
and personal prayer are all significant predictors of greater environmental concern”
(Francis 1997, p. 7). It concludes that “contrary to the view that the Christian tradition promotes a cavalier attitude toward environmental issues, the data demonstrates
a positive relationship between religiosity and environmental concern” (p. 7).
Hayes and Marangudakis (2000) were more equivocal in their findings. They
examined the impact of religion on environmental attitudes and behaviour of adults
within the USA, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand. Their findings suggest that
there is no significant difference between Christians and non-Christians regarding
their concern for the environment, and “overall, religious identification is a relatively weak and inconsistent predictor of environmental attitudes and behavior across
nation” (p. 159).
Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, in his first papal encyclical dedicated
to the environment, titled Laudato Si’ (Praise Be), On the Care of Our Common
Home, called for immediate action to stop environmental degradation. He advocates
a change in lifestyle as he links environmental problems to “a throwaway culture
which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish” (Pope Francis
2015, p. 17). He also calls for “a conversation which includes everyone, since the
environmental challenges we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect
us all” (p. 12). This encyclical has been shared with millions of Catholics all over
the world and added to the body of the Church’s social teachings (Nelson and Luetz
2019). Pope Francis also pleaded for action during his address at the United Nations
in September 2015 when he likened harm done to the environment as harm done to
humanity: “The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can
threaten the very existence of the human species” (Goldenberg and Kirchgaessner
2015, p. 5).
Yencken et al. (2000) note that “in each of the three great Indian religious traditions, Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, humans are asked to show reverence and
T. A. Raman and J. M. Luetz
Introduction
Drawing connections between religion and the environment is not novel. Historian Lynn White (1967) claimed that the beginning of the notion of ‘nature’ as an
exploitable source of resources is found in the first book of the Old Testament:
Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all
creatures that move along the ground.’ (Genesis 1: 26)
While White’s view lends support to the understanding that religious beliefs and
commitments have a potential to negatively impact environmental concerns, others
contend that religion may generate a pro-environmental stewardship effect (Kearns
1997; Pepper and Leonard 2016; Woodrum and Wolkomir 1997).
Sherkat and Ellison’s (2007) contention that there is a positive relationship
between religious beliefs and environmental concern is supported by a UK study that
asked 20,968 Year 9 and Year 10 students to provide information on their concern
regarding environmental pollution, belief in God, church attendance, prayer, and
their view on creationism. The study found that “belief in God, church attendance
and personal prayer are all significant predictors of greater environmental concern”
(Francis 1997, p. 7). It concludes that “contrary to the view that the Christian tradition promotes a cavalier attitude toward environmental issues, the data demonstrates
a positive relationship between religiosity and environmental concern” (p. 7).
Hayes and Marangudakis (2000) were more equivocal in their findings. They
examined the impact of religion on environmental attitudes and behaviour of adults
within the USA, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand. Their findings suggest that
there is no significant difference between Christians and non-Christians regarding
their concern for the environment, and “overall, religious identification is a relatively weak and inconsistent predictor of environmental attitudes and behavior across
nation” (p. 159).
Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, in his first papal encyclical dedicated
to the environment, titled Laudato Si’ (Praise Be), On the Care of Our Common
Home, called for immediate action to stop environmental degradation. He advocates
a change in lifestyle as he links environmental problems to “a throwaway culture
which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish” (Pope Francis
2015, p. 17). He also calls for “a conversation which includes everyone, since the
environmental challenges we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect
us all” (p. 12). This encyclical has been shared with millions of Catholics all over
the world and added to the body of the Church’s social teachings (Nelson and Luetz
2019). Pope Francis also pleaded for action during his address at the United Nations
in September 2015 when he likened harm done to the environment as harm done to
humanity: “The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can
threaten the very existence of the human species” (Goldenberg and Kirchgaessner
2015, p. 5).
Yencken et al. (2000) note that “in each of the three great Indian religious traditions, Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, humans are asked to show reverence and