Chapter 6 Religion and ecological sustainability & Colofon

28 February 2008Download (761.6 KB)

The way human beings relate to the nonhuman natural world is strongly influenced by religion. All religions, whether global or indigenous, include narratives and practices that shape their followers' attitudes towards the plant and animal kingdoms, the earth and its cycles, the moon and the planets, the stars and the cosmos. Given the widespread influence of religions in the modern world, their significance for environmental sustainability can hardly be overrated.

The seventh Millennium Development Goal (MDG) focuses on environmental sustainability. Participating nations have chosen to strive for three related targets: 

1. To integrate the principles of sustainable development into national policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources
2. To reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water
3. To achieve significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020

The first target denotes broad concern for the sustainability of ecosystems. The second and third targets focus more narrowly on the sustainability of human communities within these environmental systems. In each case, the effectiveness of national policies in reaching these targets will depend on the degree to which they incorporate the factor of religion.

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