16 How Does Faith Influence Pro-Environmental Practice in Schools? …
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The environment must be kept clean like we keep our house and prayer places clean. We
have to make sure that we clean everything and there is no rubbish, especially at Diwali time
(Hindu festival of lights).
Another student discussed how religion was important in her family and her
parents insisted that they did the right thing:
We are not allowed to waste food or water because it is a sin, and my parents get angry when
we waste things so even now, I try to remember that.
One student spoke about his involvement with the Church youth group and how
they were getting involved with beach clean-ups and it was good to be doing something good for the environment. He also remarked that he didn’t realise just how
much rubbish was left on the beaches, especially plastic rubbish:
At first we couldn’t believe the amount of rubbish on the beach, especially the plastic rubbish
and the empty bottles.
While religion has an influence on the pro-environmental behaviours of some
student participants in this study, it is not as strong as the influence of culture.
Previous studies conducted in the US and the UK have looked at the influence of
religion and have suggested a positive relationship between religious beliefs and
environmental concern (Francis 1997; Sherkat and Ellison 2007). Yet Hayes and
Marangudakis (2000) found that overall “religious identification is a relatively weak
and inconsistent predictor of environmental attitudes and behaviour across nation”
(p. 159). In this study, participants who spoke of the influence that religion had on
their concern for the environment had predominantly attended faith-based schools.
Contrary to Chan and Islam’s (2015) finding that environmental activism is
frowned upon by the Singapore Government, the recognition given to the practice
of religion in Fiji with significant events in the religious calendar of the major religions observed with a public holiday, environmental activism by religious groups
is unlikely to be frowned upon. For example, clean-up campaigns are organised by
the church youth groups. The first author’s personal experience of having participated in various clean-up activities organised by a church youth group in Fiji, lends
support to the view that such groups have the potential to provide impetus for greater
involvement of youth in environmental issues.
A number of religions are practiced in Fiji and public holidays are observed
for significant events in the major religions. Therefore, given the significance of
religion in Fiji, the influence of religion on the pro-environmental behaviours of
some participants is not surprising. The challenge is to consider how religion can be
used to influence the attitude and behaviour of Fiji citizens thereby increasing the
adoption pro-environmental behaviours.
The principals of the faith-based secondary schools mentioned how the importance
of caring for the environment is emphasized in their schools with links made to their
particular religion. The data collected from semi-structured interviews with school
principals of faith-based schools highlighted a commonality across all the religions
represented: the focus on cleanliness, keeping the school environment clean as a
sign of respect for God’s creation, and linking it to the teachings of their particular
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The environment must be kept clean like we keep our house and prayer places clean. We
have to make sure that we clean everything and there is no rubbish, especially at Diwali time
(Hindu festival of lights).
Another student discussed how religion was important in her family and her
parents insisted that they did the right thing:
We are not allowed to waste food or water because it is a sin, and my parents get angry when
we waste things so even now, I try to remember that.
One student spoke about his involvement with the Church youth group and how
they were getting involved with beach clean-ups and it was good to be doing something good for the environment. He also remarked that he didn’t realise just how
much rubbish was left on the beaches, especially plastic rubbish:
At first we couldn’t believe the amount of rubbish on the beach, especially the plastic rubbish
and the empty bottles.
While religion has an influence on the pro-environmental behaviours of some
student participants in this study, it is not as strong as the influence of culture.
Previous studies conducted in the US and the UK have looked at the influence of
religion and have suggested a positive relationship between religious beliefs and
environmental concern (Francis 1997; Sherkat and Ellison 2007). Yet Hayes and
Marangudakis (2000) found that overall “religious identification is a relatively weak
and inconsistent predictor of environmental attitudes and behaviour across nation”
(p. 159). In this study, participants who spoke of the influence that religion had on
their concern for the environment had predominantly attended faith-based schools.
Contrary to Chan and Islam’s (2015) finding that environmental activism is
frowned upon by the Singapore Government, the recognition given to the practice
of religion in Fiji with significant events in the religious calendar of the major religions observed with a public holiday, environmental activism by religious groups
is unlikely to be frowned upon. For example, clean-up campaigns are organised by
the church youth groups. The first author’s personal experience of having participated in various clean-up activities organised by a church youth group in Fiji, lends
support to the view that such groups have the potential to provide impetus for greater
involvement of youth in environmental issues.
A number of religions are practiced in Fiji and public holidays are observed
for significant events in the major religions. Therefore, given the significance of
religion in Fiji, the influence of religion on the pro-environmental behaviours of
some participants is not surprising. The challenge is to consider how religion can be
used to influence the attitude and behaviour of Fiji citizens thereby increasing the
adoption pro-environmental behaviours.
The principals of the faith-based secondary schools mentioned how the importance
of caring for the environment is emphasized in their schools with links made to their
particular religion. The data collected from semi-structured interviews with school
principals of faith-based schools highlighted a commonality across all the religions
represented: the focus on cleanliness, keeping the school environment clean as a
sign of respect for God’s creation, and linking it to the teachings of their particular