Is Islam Pro- or Anti-Environmental? Interpretations and Implications

Hekmatpour, Peyman; Burns, Thomas J.; Boyd, Tom W.

doi:10.22158/jar.v1n1p92

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Islam, like other religions, can be interpreted in different ways on a variety of dimensions (Hekmatpour, Burns and Boyd 2017). Considering Islam to be essentially a violent religion promoting terrorism, cannot solve, but can exacerbate the problem.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam among European Muslims before and after ISIS: the important roles of residential segregation and education

Hekmatpour

Burns

2019

British Journal of Sociology

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Perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam is one of the indicating features of Islamic fundamentalism and, in some cases, is serving as a pull to join extremist groups. In this paper, using data from two waves of a cross‐national survey, we investigate what affects European Muslims’ opinions about Western governments. We find that residential segregation is associated with perceived hostility of Western governments to Islam. Further, we find that Muslims living in segregated neighbourhoods and enclaves have a higher probability of believing that Western governments are hostile to Islam. National origins of Muslim immigrants have a significant impact, with people from African countries measuring less perceived hostility than others. We also find that education is associated with perceived hostility of Western governments to Islam in a non‐linear way. People with the highest and lowest levels of education tend to be less likely to believe that Western governments are hostile to Islam, relative to people with mid‐level education. This non‐linear effect is best explained by education’s differential effects on perceptions of key world events. During the time between 2011 – before ISIS’s announcement of its Caliphate in Iraq and Syria – and 2013, subsequent to that announcement, we see a sharp decrease in perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam, particularly among more educated European Muslims. We make the case that this decrease can be attributed, in some ways, to the emergence of ISIS. We discuss our findings in terms of theoretical and policy implications.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam among European Muslims before and after ISIS: the important roles of residential segregation and education

Hekmatpour

Burns

2019

British Journal of Sociology

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“…He argues that our present environmental problems are rooted in a number of religious ideas, such as the "domination of man over the earth," and "the specialness of humankind." These notions are shared by major Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Hekmatpour et al 2017). Alternatively, non-Abrahamic traditions,…”

Section: Background and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Right-Wing Stewards: The Promoting Effect of Religiosity on Environmental Concern Among Political Conservatives in A Global Context

Hekmatpour¹

2020

Preprint

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This article studies the relationship between individuals’ religiosity, political ideology, and environmental concern, in a cross-national setting. Drawing data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey (1999-2009), the final sample of this study includes 44,391 respondents nested in 43 countries. By using a multi-level modeling technique, I find that, in general, religiosity is positively associated with respondents’ environmental concerns in terms of willingness to pay for the environment, agreement with increased taxes to prevent environmental pollutions, and choosing environmental protection over economic interests. Political ideology, measured via individuals’ self-placement on a left-right continuum, does not have a meaningful relationship with environmental concern in a global setting. Nevertheless, I observe an interaction effect between religiosity and political ideology. Increased religiosity, particularly among more conservative individuals, is associated with a higher probability of environmental concern. Comparatively, religiosity virtually does not affect liberals’ concern for the natural environment. In other words, the gap between liberals and conservatives regarding the natural environment is more pronounced at lower levels of religiosity; as religiosity increases, the gap starts to narrow. Results suggest that religion has the potential to elevate some of the political barriers on the way towards reaching a collective environmental consciousness.

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“…Moreover, religions have been the "voice of nature to humanity" that remind us of our inevitable connection to the nature (Gottlieb 2003). According to Lynn White (1967), religious teachings such as the "domination of man over the earth," and "the specialness of humankind," among other factors, can be considered as roots of our contemporary environmental issues (Hekmatpour et al 2017). These beliefs are widely shared by the followers of Abrahamic Religions.…”

Section: Religion and The Natural Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Religious teachings, in virtually all traditions, are open to numerous ways of interpretation Burns 2019, 2018;Hekmatpour 2018Hekmatpour , 2016. A number of scholars draw on the possibility of pro-environmental interpretations of religious teachings and the potential of these interpretations to help create an environmentally friendly ethos (White 1967;Hitzhusen 2007;Burns 2016;Hekmatpour et al 2017). Saint Francis of Assisi, for example, is considered by Pope Francis (2015) a Christian model of environmental conservativism.…”

Section: Religion and The Natural Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion, Polity, and the Natural Environment in the Anthropocene Age

Hekmatpour¹

2020

Preprint

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The Anthropocene age is marked by increased human impacts on the natural environment. As social beings, humans interact with each other, and with their surrounding environments, often through organizations and institutions. Religion and the polity are among the most influential human institutions, and they tend to impact the natural environment in several ways. For instance, several thinkers have claimed that some of the central ideas of the Abrahamic traditions, such as the concept of “Domination of men over the earth,” are among the causes of several anthropogenic environmental problems. By contrast, some of the ideas of non-Abrahamic, particularly animistic, religions are found to be associated with environmental conservation and stewardship. The polity can also contribute to environmental problems. The relationship between political organizations and environmental degradation, at any level of analysis from local to global, is well studied and established in the literature. Politicizing the natural environment, however, is not without tradeoffs. Environmentalism, by certain groups of people, is considered as a “stigma,” while it is a central concept in the political ideology of another part of the population. This antagonism is harmful to the environmental protection cause. I make the case that religion, or at least a number of religious ideas, can be conducive to the process of depoliticizing the natural environment. In this paper, I strive to draw a theoretical framework to explain how religion and the polity can mutually impact the natural environment.

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Is Islam Pro- or Anti-Environmental? Interpretations and Implications

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 13 publications

References 21 publications

Perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam among European Muslims before and after ISIS: the important roles of residential segregation and education

Perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam among European Muslims before and after ISIS: the important roles of residential segregation and education

Right-Wing Stewards: The Promoting Effect of Religiosity on Environmental Concern Among Political Conservatives in A Global Context

Religion, Polity, and the Natural Environment in the Anthropocene Age

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