The paper presents the potential of religions, in particular Christianity, in shaping a culture of sustainable consumption (a culture of moderation). It focuses on the contribution of the Catholic tradition, which is, to some extent, complemented by statements representing other Christian denominations. Based on an analysis of relevant sources, it identifies risks arising from the prevalence of a consumer culture, which results in the primacy of “having” over “being” and reduces man to a Homo consumens. Moreover, the widespread culture of consumerism is associated with a so-called throwaway culture dominated by a disposable mentality making use of things and people. It also points to one of the key elements of consumer culture (a culture of overuse) in the form of so-called neophilia, resulting in the weakening of interpersonal relationships, the atomization of societies, and depletion of the Earth’s resources, combined with reckless wastefulness. An analysis of consumer culture leads to the identification of elements that underpin a culture of moderation, being an antidote to dangers arising from the prevalence of consumer culture. The most important elements shaping a model of culture that is man- and environment-friendly include a new model of progress, a mentality of communion, and a new lifestyle. It is a model of progress, which is not limited merely to economics, but takes into account the need for integral human development and appreciates the spiritual and cultural sphere of life. In order to build a culture of moderation, a communion mentality is needed to restore interpersonal relationships and make man aware of his relation to the whole community of life. Another important element of a culture of moderation is a new lifestyle which takes into account all human needs, respects the potential of the natural environment, and is characterized by intra-generational and inter-generational responsibility. There is much to suggest that Christianity has the potential to make a significant contribution to reducing the culture of overuse and promoting a culture of moderation. The influence of Catholic thought on shaping a culture of sustainable consumption is illustrated by the introduction of restrictions on Sunday shopping in Poland in 2018. This case study shows the importance of religious arguments in introducing legal changes and their impact on promoting a culture of moderation.

The influence of religion on the human attitude to nature has been a thoroughly studied issue over the last sixty years. The present paper addresses a particular aspect of this issue, namely, it provides a comparison of religious and cultural principles characterizing animistic religions and Christianity. It also concentrates on the ecological consequences of supplanting animism with Christianity. The results of the conducted research indicate that the role of religious and cultural principles standing guard over nature is usually either overestimated or depreciated. Religion may only become an important ally making a real contribution to nature conservation at both local and global levels, providing that those principles are attributed their proper significance.

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For several decades now, intensive research has been carried out on the concept of a city that would be as environmentally friendly as possible, while simultaneously providing a high quality of life for its residents. As a result of this research, the concept of a sustainable city that addresses these challenges has been developed. The significance of this issue is evidenced by the fact that Sustainable Development Goal 11 is explicitly concerned with this topic. This paper aims to analyze the concept of a sustainable city from the perspective of the so-called ‘layered’ concept of man authored by Konrad Lorenz. It is based on the observation that the pace of biological evolution and that of the cultural evolution man undergoes differ significantly. While humans have adapted very quickly to urban living in their cultural layer, adaptation to city life in their biological layer has been very slow. The natural way of life pursued by the Homo sapiens was a hunter–gatherer lifestyle, which biological evolution had adapted the species to over hundreds of thousands of years. The changes associated with the Neolithic Revolution and the formation of the first cities took place about 11,000 years ago. Thus, not enough time has elapsed for humans to adapt biologically to their radically changed living conditions. The purpose of this paper is to look from a new perspective at the challenges faced by city dwellers, and in doing so, to identify the sources of these challenges and to arrange them in a hierarchy. An additional goal is to expand the argument for promoting certain elements of a sustainable city. Indeed, much seems to suggest that Lorenz’s concept offers a novel approach to looking at such urban issues as the challenges of overpopulation, man’s restricted access to nature, and the ever-increasing pace of life.

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