Environmental Ethics and Other Faiths

The Christian tradition, as we have seen, emphasizes a duality between humanity and nature. Other religions, such as the faiths of many Native American tribes and the religions of Asia, place more emphasis on harmony between people and the environment.

Some scholars hold that the nature of the physical environment in which religions have originated influences religious views relating nature and society. Christianity. Judaism, and Islam originated in the desert environment of southwestern Asia. Common to all of these faiths is the view that it is the duty of human beings to subdue and master the physical environment. On the other hand, religions originating in more fertile regions emphasize the unity of human beings and nature.

The view that society and nature are one characterizes many ethnic religions that currently prevail in some of the less developed countries. Religion is seen as the means by which natural forces can be understood. Religious rituals are often tied to the seasons and the agricultural year. They are performed in order to ensure the success of crop growth or to resolve the mystery and unpredictability of life.

Yet, it is unfair to pin the blame for ecological degradation on the Judeo-Christian tradition alone. Human beings have exercised their unique ability to modify the physical environment since the dawn of civilization. The extinction of many animal species, the desertification of wide areas, and other environmental disasters can be linked to the activities of civilizations that existed long before the Christian era. We must keep in mind, however, that our ability to destroy the environment has increased immensely as a result of sophisticated modem technology.

The Future of Religion in a Secular World. Is the influence of religion in the contemporary worlddeclining? After all, church membership and church attendance has been decreasing in recent years, especially inurbanized areas of the West. Furthermore, modern science has cast light on many of nature's mysteries. Most modern, educated people accept scientific explanations for phenomena that were viewed as supernatural by ancient civilizations.

On the other hand, religion continues to be a driving force in developing, justifying, and implementing our systems of values. Throughout history, we have looked to religion to deal with questions that science could not answer. Because science can now explain many natural forces, religion focuses on larger and ultimately more important matters concerning the meaning of life, the nature of society, and the role of society in the environment. Moreover, religious principles underlie potential and actual solutions to the world's major social and environmental problems. Much of the opposition to the nuclear arms race in the contemporary world has drawn inspiration from religious theology.

Many of the most important and respected leaders of various social movements throughout the world, including Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, were religious as well as political leaders. Because values are so closely tied to religious principles, it is unlikely that the influence of religion on the contemporary world will decline. Rather, it can be expected to increase as we grapple with the important social, economic, and environmental problems that now confront us.

Religions of India. The people of the Indiansubcontinent speak numerous indigenous languages.The populations of India and its neighbors are alsodivided along religious lines, and religion has played amajor role in India's recent political history. The partition of India and Pakistan upon their achievement ofindependence in 1947 was along religious lines, withHindu-dominated areas incorporated into India andMuslim-dominated territories becoming Pakistan(Figure CT5).

Figure CT5 The Distribution of Religions within the Indian Subcontinent. The religious differences between the Hindus and the Muslims fostered the creation of two separate countries, as well as distinct regions within the subcontinent

Religion continues to play a major rolein the internal politics of India, for non-Hindu minorities have pressed to form separate states in variousparts of the country. Religious extremists were responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi, and other political leaders inthe country.