Center on Religion & the Professions

Improving religious literacy among professionals.

Natural resources

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About the discipline

Many religious traditions speak of sensing the presence of the divine in nature. Even some who don’t affiliate with an organized religion consider the great outdoors to be their private worship space.

Nature and religion: People’s beliefs about nature, and the relationship between people and nature, often have religious overtones. Naturalist and conservationist John Muir grew up in a strict Calvinist home but later found holiness in nature, saying at one point that he wanted to “devote the rest of my life to the study of the inventions of God.” Botanist George Washington Carver said that, “Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.”

Religious beliefs: Many faiths teach respect for the creatures that share Earth with humans. A long debate in Christianity has been over interpretation of Genesis 1:28, in which God blessed the man and woman he created (Adam and Eve) and told them: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Scholars and believers have tried to discern whether “dominion” means using animals for humans’ purposes, or that humans bear responsibility for a benevolent stewardship of the natural world. As awareness of environmental issues has increased, the stewardship perspective has grown popular.

The most famous Christian saint associated with nature is St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced wealth to live a life of poverty amid the natural world. He praised the earth, sun, plants and animals and was known for preaching to birds and picking worms off the road and carrying them to safety. Founder of the Franciscan Order, St. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment.

In Islam, a saying of Muhammad, the faith’s founder, tells of the prophet being asked whether those who are kind to animals are rewarded. Muhammad reportedly answered: “There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.” If they must kill an animal, Muslims are commanded to do so in a manner that causes the least amount of fright and suffering.

Neo-paganism, a growing faith movement in the United States that includes Wicca and some Shamanistic faiths, is characterized by an Earth-based orientation. Neo-pagan rituals and practices often take place outdoors, close to the nature they hold sacred. Holidays often revolve around the changing seasons.

Animistic religions often believe that there is a spirit in every tree, mountain or spring, and all have to be respected.

Global warming: Evangelical Christians made news in 2006 by expressing concern about climate change. The Evangelical Climate Initiative – including mega-church pastors, Christian college presidents and other leaders – issued a manifesto called “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action.” Liberal and moderate faith groups have long embraced environmental concerns, but many conservative Christians considered the scientific evidence inconclusive and environmental concerns unrelated to religious obligation.

The high-profile campaign revealed disagreement among evangelicals. Some support “creation care,” a term for environmental awareness and action. They see saving the earth as a pro-life issue because it affects the well-being and, potentially, survival of future generations. Opponents believe God ordered humans to dominate all living things, or that global warming is part of the prophesied End Times.

According to a 2006 survey, three-quarters of evangelicals – a powerful social and political group – favor actions such as slowing climate change or preventing development of wild areas. A quarter are strong supporters of environmental action, and more than half found support for environmentalism in their Christian beliefs. Two-thirds believe climate change is happening and 70 percent see it as a significant danger. More than 60 percent support taking steps to stop it, and half favor doing so even if the cost is high.

Issues today: The environmental movement is drawing an increasing number of religious people from a variety of faith traditions, which suggests that care of the Earth could unite people across religious divides. Some religious believers are interested in climate change for its effect on social justice issues as well. For example, if warming of the environment contributes to more severe hurricane seasons, people may protest for religious reasons because damage from hurricanes often disproportionately affects the poor.

Researchers can study people’s ideas about the origin of nature, such as whether it is wrought by the hand of God, or an independent, naturally occurring phenomenon. Some people consider nature to be a holy miracle. Wildlife is seen as a sanctuary and a sacred space, whose contents and creatures are also sacred creations. Others use religion as a way to define humans’ role in respect to nature. Study of the natural world has led to both theories of divine origin and scientific invention, including the theory of evolution. The natural world has long held a spiritual pull on people as well, with spiritual meaning, purification and discernment applied to retreats into the wilderness for faiths including Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism.

Those working in conservation can work with religious groups to accomplish aims. They may not always come from the same perspective, but they may share the same goals. Conservationists can use the resources of religious organizations to share information about environmental issues (already seen with documentaries such as Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” being shown at churches around the country). Religious groups can inform environmentalists and others about why the natural world is important to them. This many even impact how natural wonders are marketed to tourists and nature lovers from around the world. Researchers can study and develop ways people of faith and environmentalists, scientists, conservationists and naturalists can work together.

Articles

Books

  • Religion and Ecology in the Public Sphere. Celia Deane-Drummond. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2011.
  • Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials. Judith V. Royster. Carolina Academic Press, 2007.
  • The Oxford handbook of religion and ecology. Roger S. Gottlieb. Oxford University Press US, 2006.
  • Of the Land and the Spirit: The Essential Lord Northbourne on Ecology and Religion. Lord Northbourne World Wisdom, edition 2008.
  • This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment. Roger Gottlieb. Routledge, 2003.
  • Worldviews, Religion, and the Environment: A Global Anthology. Richard C. Foltz. Wadsworth Publishing, 2002.
  • Ecology and the Environment: Perspectives from the Humanities. Donald K. Swearer (editor). Center for the Study of World Religions, 2009.
  • Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia. David Gosling. Taylor & Francis, 2002.
  • Inherited Lands: The Changing Grounds of Religion and Ecology. Whitney A. Bauman, Richard R. Bohannon and Kevin J. O’Brien (eds.). Pickwick Publications, 2011.

Case studies

  • “The Contribution of Ecotourism to the Conservation of Natural Sacred Sites: A Case Study from Coastal Kenya” by Celia Nyamweru and Elias Kimaru. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 3: 327-350, 2008.
  • “Introduction: African Sacred Ecologies” by Celia Nyamweru and Michael Sheridan. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 3: 285-291, 2008.
  • “Taboo and Political Authority in Conservation Policy: A Case Study of the Licuati Forest in Maputaland, Mozambique” by Samira A. Izidine, Stefan J. Siebert, Abraham E. van Wyk and Alphaeus M. Zobolo. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 3: 373-390, 2008.
  • “Consequences of wooded shrine rituals on vegetation conservation in West Africa: a case study from the Bwaba cultural area” by Anne Fournier. Biodiversity and Conservation. Vol. 20, No. 9 (Aug. 2011): 1895-1910.
  • “The Role of Culture on Integrated Water Resource Management in the Lake Nalubale (Victoria) Basin in Uganda” by Patricia Kabatabazi (.pdf)
  • Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials. Judith V. Royster. Carolina Academic Press, 2007.

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