Religion and Ecology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religion and Ecology - Essay Example Finally, I will explore human nature and destiny as part of the natural world and how our actions and religions are important in development. Religion has almost certainly shaped our understanding of and our conduct towards nature and vice versa. For example, Judaism (one of the oldest religions), nature is presented as being something that â€Å"God created†1. Another ancient religion, Hinduism, has special Gods dedicated towards the worship of nature2, which suggest that nature is needing explain by the use of Gods and spirituality. Many of the tribal religions are based around nature-worship and a special symbiosis with environment3. Most religions state that there is a special relationship between man, nature and a spiritual being and that nature is something that need taking care of by man. This much is true. However, looking at state of world and impending environmental crisis, it not clear whether this encouragement to bond with nature by religion has had enough of an effect. Many people also feel that religion encourages people to think that they are better than other species or that humans are not part of the natural world. In Judaism, God has created man in his image4 suggesting that God has created a special place in the world for man. Man is more like God than the other creatures. However, in religious environmentalism we see that newer spiritual and religious movements are encouraging human race to see themselves as part of the environment and to take care of it like they would care for their own home5. Interestingly, the nature is a finite resource and seeing humans as part of that resource could help to encourage us to see ourselves within nature and to help us maintain it like religions so often encourage. Religions also help ask and answer the question â€Å"what is the place of humans in the non-human natural world?† There are two clear schools of thought. One, common in the