The Greening of Religion Hypothesis (Part Two)

Abstract

Herein we provide a comprehensive review of research pertinent to Lynn White, Jr's contentions in 'The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis'(1967) about the negative environmental impacts of 'Judeo-Christian' ideas as well as subsequent claims that the world's predominant religions are becoming more environmentally friendly. Definitive conclusions are difficult given the complexity of biocultural systems; nevertheless, extant research has identified many themes and dynamics that hinder environmental understanding and mobilization by religious individuals, whether Abrahamic or involved in religions that originated in Asia. Some indigenous traditions, however, appear to foster pro-environmental perceptions and behaviors as do some nature-based cosmologies and value systems, which are often deeply informed by the sciences and direct experience within environmental systems. Our review overturns common misperceptions regarding the role of religion in environmental behaviors andconcludes that additional research is warranted to better understand under what circumstances, and with which communicative strategies, religious or other individuals and groups might be more effectively mobilized in response to contemporary environmental challenges.

Anthropocentrism: More than Just a Misunderstood Problem

“…While some cultures respect (holy) cows or worship trees (Sponsel 2014), other communities can be cruel to animals and indifferent to this-worldly environmental concerns (Taylor 2010(Taylor , 2013Taylor et al 2016). Learning to 'love' or respect one's own tribe does not mean loving animals (or sacred forests and places).…”

Evangelical Environmentalists? Evidence from Brazil

“…As literature reviews document, the bulk of research on religion and the environment has been situated in the United States (Berry 2017; Taylor, Van Wieren, and Zaleha 2016). Yet recent research suggests that the empirical regularity found in the environmental attitudes of U.S. evangelicals might be linked to the national context.…”

“…Could evangelicalism support proenvironmental attitudes outside the United States, where subcultural factors that delegitimize Christian environmental concern are not operative? At present, it is hard to know, because even studies that look beyond the United States have mostly studied the Anglophone or North Atlantic world (Berry 2017; Taylor, Wieren, and Zaleha 2016), or instead relied on cross‐country data to assess the validity of the Lynn White thesis (e.g., Chuvieco, Burgui, and Gallego‐Álvarez 2016; Hagevi 2014; Hayes and Marangudakis 2000; Schulz, Zelezny, and Dalrymple 2000). As a result, the question of whether different contexts could encourage lay adherents from the same tradition to interpret theology differently has not yet been satisfactorily answered.…”

Green Patriarch, Green Patristics: Reclaiming the Deep Ecology of Christian Tradition

“…On the positive side, this critique at least agrees that beliefs make a difference to the way we treat the earth. It has often been pointed out since that correlations between belief and behaviour are not straightforward (e.g., (Taylor et al 2016;Taylor 2001, p. 279)), yet Christians have been spurred to think seriously about their faith and its implications. What is perhaps surprising is the degree to which environmentally-aware Protestants and Roman Catholics, especially the former, have accepted the negative assessment of Christian tradition, so that the widespread 'greening' of denominations and congregations often presents itself as a radical revision of traditional church practice and even doctrine (Heckscher 2013, pp.…”