Religion and Environment Problems
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Environmental Problems and Religion
The treatment of nature has been debatable for as long as people have existed. People learn how to treat the environment from different sources such as their parents, education, and media. These all influence people’s treatment of environment, but Lynn White Jr. suggests a different contributor to environmental treatment, religion. In “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” White believes that environmental problems are caused by religion and therefore must look towards religion for the answer. I believe religion can help solve the environmental crisis, but is not the main solution. In the end, education will fundamentally be the solution to the environmental problems the world faces today.
In the beginning, White provides examples to support his belief that the roots of our environmental problems are religious. To begin his argument, White states, “human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny-that is, by religion” (48-49). White believes that the victory of Christianity over paganism was the greatest accomplishment in our culture and because of this; we have and still are continuing to live according to the Christian faith. White further establishes that the fact Christianity has a remarkable creation story of a God who created nature for deposal of humans, thus leading Christianity to be the most anthropocentric religion in the world. One-way people have interpreted the Genesis story is that they view it as God’s will for humans to exploit nature for their gain (49). While other religions, such as paganism, believe they have to make peace with animism before cutting down a tree, Christianity substitutes the belief of objects with souls with saints to avoid conflict with abusing nature. White says it best in, “Man’s effective monopoly on spirit in this world was confirmed, and the old inhibitions to the exploitation of nature crumbled” (49). The belief in animism was the only thing separating human control over nature and this was destroyed by Christianity. With all this said, White proposed the idea that religion is going to have to be the answer to our environmental problems.
White believes that the solution to worldly problems is going to come from religion and not from technology or science. Backing this idea, White explains that much of our science and technologies have grown out of Christianity, thus making religion the backbone. He goes on to say that humans must either rethink the present Christianity or look towards another religion for environmental answers. White supports his belief with the example of Saint Francis who wanted to set up a democracy for all of God’s creatures. Francis was fighting against Christian dogma influences on technology and science leading to the destruction to the environment. Even though his idea to substitute the belief of equality of all creatures for the idea of people’s limitless rule of creation failed, White believes it will inspire future followers (51). It is because of this White accepts the fact that nature will continue to worsen until Christian axiom is rejected and a new religious view of the natural environment is found.
After examining everything that White has to say on environmental problems, I am persuaded that religion will play a small part in the repair of nature exploitation, but education will play the main role. I believe religion will not play as big of a role as White suggests because of the fact that religion’s main focus is on a higher/supernatural being rather than on the preservation