Three Environmentally Friendly Mainstream Religions, and One Improving One

5 years ago Environment

On the heels of yesterday's news that Muslims now outnumber Catholics worldwide, my thoughts turned to my lackluster efforts towards an undergraduate degree (I'll point out I succeeded) and a course I took on world religions. While only recently have Baptists or Catholics really gotten into green living, some belief systems have been at it for a long, long time.

2001064013981272830_rs.jpgAdherents of Cao Daism in Vietnam. Image from KC Hulsey on Flickr

1. Jainism.

2004913679471590752_rs.jpgNear Karnataka, India. From ????¢???????

Jainism, an ascetic tradition with 8.2 million followers in India, is based on some very simple precepts (forgive my oversimplification): every living thing has a soul. Ahisma--nonviolence--is the basis of right faith, action, and conduct. Limit your possessions and live a life of usefulness to yourself and others. Followers are usually vegetarian, and don't have the issues with...how to be polite...overconsumption...that plague modern lifestyles. It's not horribly unusual to see Jains in India carry a brush with which to clear an area they're planning to sit on, as they don't want to cause injury to any living thing.

2. Buddhism

2002218224551242237_rs.jpgImake from _ashka on Flickr

One of the central concepts of Buddhism is the"eightfold noble path," and the two of the eight guidelines that make Buddhism so earth-friendly are "right (complete) understanding" and "right action"-- clearly the intent is for both an ethical but also complex understanding of one's surroundings. This of course applies to spiritual concerns, but as Buddhism blurs the line between religion and philosophy, it is applies by followers on a broader base as well.

3. Hinduism

2003305038731389752_rs.jpgImage from hpk on Flickr

While there's some debate over this-- Hinduism also may, as many Western religions have come to allow in practice-- allow a non-sustainable lifestyle, but the focus on leading a simple life and not disturbing nature's checks and balances positions many adherents to live a green lifestyle for non-green reasons.

And credit where credit is due... Catholicism

2004364507387667401_rs.jpg Image from Amundn on Flickr

They've been historically driving waste and consumption, and for all I know in my purely arbitrary picking, may not even be the fastset-improving religion on environmental issues. But since polluting the earth is now one of the new seven deadly sins, I have to applaud.

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Written by: whatsrequired

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Old Comments

Steve N Lee says

Mar 31st, 2008 at 12am
This is a nice little article. It's good for people to see religion in an environmental role. That said, I think all the faiths, including those conspicuously missing here - Christianity and Islam - have some reference to 'stewardship' in some form or other. While this is usually in respect to animals, it should encompass all living things, so most religions can be read as being predominantly green. In fact, not just green, but GREEN! Of course, as with all aspects of religion, the true meanings of a religion's teachings are open to vastly differing interpretations. What some would term as stewardship over, others would argue should be thought of as dominion over - two immensely different concepts. But that's not the problem. The problem is people. When the majority of the world is religious, as opposed to atheist, you have to ask why the world is in the mess it's in when all these faiths preach compassion for everyone and everything. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what one religion says compared to another, it's what the individual does with the knowledge that matters. Sadly, while most people believe in some form of religion, they don't yet believe in the stewardship aspect enough for it to make a difference. People are simply too selfish. Let's hope the seas don't have to rise and all the forests burn before they see the beauty in many of the teachings of the world's philosophies and faiths. Steve N. Lee author of eco-blog http://www.lionsledbysheep.com