Religion and the Environment

1
Religion and the Environment

• The Case for Environmental Responsibility

2
An Endangered Planet

• Why are we in an environmental crisis?
• Industrial Revolution
• First World lifestyles
• Population growth
• What dangers threaten the earth?
• Soil
• Natural resources
• Atmosphere
• Water

3
Two environmental ethics

• Anthropocentric
• Egalitarian
• Deep ecology
• a belief that humans should try to become
  integrated with nature, fitting themselves to the
  land and living in harmony with it. All of
  creation exists for its own sake, not ours
• Ecofeminism
• stresses the rejection of hierarchical structures
  that place men above women or humans over the
  earth

4
The underlying issues

• Instrumental vs. intrinsic value
• Anthropocentrism vs. non-anthropocentrism
• Individualism vs. holism
• Shallow vs. deep ecology