Religion and Ecology Essay

Every thread of the problems faced by the place homo race society can be traced back to first industrial revolution of late 18th speed of light and early 19th century that took place in Britain and from where it was embraced by the stainless earthly concern. The industrial revolution stupefy in motion the parade of changes that learn since then subsequently trans variety show the character of non only human society and of stainless earth (Gatta, 7). Air, water, land and sky, solely bear the effects of the changes inflicted by human march through industrial revolution and the effects reach not been pleasant by any order.The modern society is the product of new-classical possibility of economicals and the anthropocentric entrance of environs, both of which advocates completely human center on progress and development utilizing whole the imagi inheringnesss and potentials of the genius and the environment just about them (Nassar, 40-46). This everyplacetake ha s been at the core of whole the human activities and development planning taking place since more than 200 years now and it has encouraged capacious rate of consumption and utilization of all the inwrought resources at an incessantly increasing scale.As almost a direct evidence of the expanding human footprint on earth, our population has increased from 1 billion to round 7 billion in past 150 years (Gatta, 20). This maturation is based on the pieceation of an efficient but brutal remains that maste rose-cheeked the art of misusing the full spectrum of available natural resources, causing their general dying, contamination, and debilitation.Examples of this destruction can be seen in extensive deforestation slightly the world, rapid destruction of rainforests in Brazil and Africa, fertile soil erosion, consummate(a) contamination of several all-important(prenominal) rivers of world due to continuous escape of industrial and municipal sewage, air pollution, ozone layer destruction, depletion of non renewable energy resources specially oil and natural gas, world-wide warming and climatic change. The extensive aggrieve to the natural resources and environmental science has deeply im braced the natural system, creating a disharmony and conflict with human development and its environment.The destruction of ecology and constitution have caused unprecedented rise in extinction rates of animals and plants, who have found their bionomic niches disappearing due to human activities. The emergence of massive urban centers around the world where millions of people live within few unbent kilometers of area exert tremendous pressure on the environmental sources which has spew earths biodiversity and consequently humanitys own extract chances at risk (Gatta, 62).The threat that human development is causing to the replete(p) living world, including its own self, has not remained unnoticed and at that place umteen global complaisant and political mo vements have started during past 30 years, with sincere intentions and efforts to urinate and implement an alternative system of social and economic model where human interests and development share a symbiotic relationship with nature, environment and ecology where advancement and development have mutual linkage across the entire natural continuum (Nassar, 68).These efforts have been so far varyingly successful, where some countries and regions have choose one set of selective steps for ecological integration, while otherwises have adopted different set of steps, all determined by their economic convenience and financial constructs (Gatta, 65-69). This has led to an inward analysis and evaluation process in ecology and environmental thinking, which looks at the very basics of our social development and structure and try to re-align them with many old and yet live religious and community realise of social development, which is embedded in ecology and environment.But the promon tory of human pressure and influence on its ecology has several parallel sides, each of which poses its own crucial question. The first question that comes up is that, is human species is constrained by any limiting accompanimentor- does its increment and expansion has a maximum attainable size, or can it maintain to swell indefinitely, maximizing the resources for itself, for its need for endless consumption and consequently infinite festering?If this is not possible , then is it possible for human beings to subsist and thrive in exact optimum conditions, where population growth, consumption requirements, and growth needs are exactly balanced with the ecosystem, and stay in this balance forever? If the attainment of this balance is not possible then does it dream up that for its own survival humanity is causing destruction of other species, destabilizing the ecosystem, and blithesome the biosphere? (Gatta, 141-147) Religion and EcologyWhile all the religions of world have a strong foundation in ethical learning and teachings, with distinct fierceness on concepts of good and bad, divine presence, and determinism, the antiquated cultures and indigenous traditions have taken this concept much further to include divinity and God as a part of their local environment and daily living system. The prerequisite principle is same in all the religions, which states that God has created the entire world, including all the nature features, plants and animals, and human beings.However, as it is seen, some of the earlier interpretations of modern religions, much(prenominal) as Christianity, took a rather human centric religious memory access (Gatta, 208). In essence, they popularized the notion that man is designed to be the ultimate consumer of all the natural resources, or in other words, the whole natural world exists in order to serve and meet human needs and requirements. This view in considered as one of the acting principle behind neo classical theory o f economics as well as anthropocentric world view as discussed earlier.The view of ancient and traditional cultures and religions does not take such an exclusive view of human influence. For example it does not recognize human beings as isolated and separated from their surrounding environment and ecology, neither it sees humans as controller of the natural resources and final justice of their destiny (Nassar, 71). The learning that we receive from these traditional cultures and religions is that we must recognize ourselves as parts of a widely distributed and ranging biotic communities and ecosystems, each of which has its own important role to play in design and creation of God and nature. kind-hearted beings occupy a very important niche in nature, but yet its only one of the numerous niches, while the complete compass of the ecology goes much beyond the human considerations and interests (Gatta, 219). Then, there are many internal and subtle relations present between mans inter action with nature and vice versa. Ecology is not only a biological function of our existence but it also regulates the cultural gradient, the behavioral landscape and the social outlook of people.Therefore, when we deeply disturb the ecosystem through saturnine and determined set of harmful activities- acidification of natural resources, toxifying land and water bodies, resource depletion, modification and destruction of habitats and unintended or deliberate elimination of native species, then we destroy our cultural tie from the ecosystem. Howe we act and when we act should perpetually remain attuned to our environmental and ecological perspective.The lessons from the past, and the ecological wisdom of ancient religions should form our guiding principles at either stage of intervention or incumbrance in the ecosystem. Taking a step ahead, it should create a pro-active come up to look into the possible avenues of meaningful interference and interaction to search for, detect and implement the ways in which our impact on our own ecosystem is as free of protuberance as possible (Gatta, 223-232). Our actions should be well healthy out and their consequences considered in all the possible turn tails.The ecosystem balance is dependent upon a vast number of factors, many of them yet unknown or improperly understood, and therefore even an unintended disturbance on our part produce enormous and unexpected ecological backlash. These backlashes symbolize the failure of mans relation with nature, failure of the understanding and appreciation of ecosystems intrinsic time value in defining the human niche, and a failure to secure tonic steps to improve the interaction.The ancient and indigenous cultures, such as Inca, red Indians, Buddhism and Chinese culture, took a very different view of the role of humanity in the natures order. They did not see nature and its grown gifts as resources that require taming, mastering and exploitation. Quite contrary, they view ed man in a wholesome, nurturing and co-dependent relation with the nature, where every aspect of nature, whether its a tree or an animal, shares a relationship with the man.Explaining the meaning and depth of this relationship, the older religions and cultures state that as the entire nature is a creation of the God, therefore its every part is a close a representation of God, and hence their destruction or violation is a direct violation of Gods own creation (Gatta, 237-241). This idea is further developed in east religions where man is viewed as just one part of the infinite range of natures creations, with no superiority or ascendency accorded to him over other forms of livelihood or natural features.Human being oppose a place in the continuum of natural order, but apart from their wisdom, there is nothing to distinguish them, or accord them the status of master of other resources. The implications of this view cut deep and profound, even for the standard of modern environmen talism and ecological movements. A majority of these movements still see the issue from the point of delivery earth and nature from human desire and want of growth-insinuating a anaemic and fragile nature and a powerful human civilization which is sonorous the vulnerable nature (Nassar, 91-96)This is Older traditions, cultures and religions, take quite an opposite view on this issue, where they see human beings as fragile, vulnerable and dependent upon the nature for their own survival. Nature, on the other hand is all powerful, protean, strong, and controlling lives and deaths-in fact nature is deemed so powerful that it is worshipped in many ancient civilizations and we can see why- the human survival is impossible if the nature dies around (Nassar, 107-111).We have always considered the nature and ecology as taken for granted in our environment however, if we once stop to consider the situation when all the standing forests have been cut down, all the rivers polluted and turn ed into industrial sewage, all the natural diversity in animal and vegetation life lost on account of human exploits then it is not tight to see that the this situation signifies the end of humanity as well-with no resources left, no natural cover to fall back, and left in a sodding(a) and dry world, human beings would run out of their capacity to struggle and succeed (Gatta, 151-156).Thus the teachings of the indigenous cultures and older religions is towards ingraining humanity into a natural system that is based on mutual benefit, organic growth and mutually beneficial development. This is a holistic, broad, and profound approach, which makes man a factor in the natures grand design of world, brining understanding, compassion, humbleness and realization of the coherence and righteousness that is pre-requisite for our existence.ReferenceGatta, John. Making Nature Sacred Literature, Religion, and Environment in the States from the Puritans to the Present. Oxford University Pre ss, 2004. 291 p. Nasar, Sayyed Hossein. Religion & the Order of Nature. Oxford University Press, 1996 . 312 p