Religion and the Environment

Religious approach:
The creation story in Genesis seems to be up to interpretation. God appears to value creation as he 'saw it was good' but this contrasts with his specific concern for humanity.
One view is that of dominion - humans have dominion over all creatures.
Hebrew text has words such as 'subdue' and 'rule over' seems to imply dominion
Many christians believe that care for the environment is not the objective of christians - we should not allow any material things to get in the way of spiritual progress.
Augustine echos this saying our dominion over creatures is indicitive of our unique faculty of rationality - humans reflect image of God, animals do not. God's creation will continue to be beautiful no matter what.
Aquinas also says similar thing. humans are special because they are rational and intellectual. animals are subordinate and exist…

Get Revising