Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis

Many environmentalists believe that religion has been a major contributor to our ecological crisis, for Judeo-Christians have been taught that they have dominion over the earth and so do not consider themselves part of a biotic community. In this book a philosopher of environmental ethics acknowledges that religion may contribute to environmental problems but argues that religion can also play an important role in solving these problems - that religion can provide an ethical context that will help people to become sensitive to the environment and to elect leaders who are genuinely responsive to the ecological crisis.
Examining a broad range of Western religious traditions - from conservative Christianity and orthodox Judaism to Goddess feminism and nature religion - Max Oelschlager provides a sociolinguistic analysis of their creation stories and finds environmentally positive aspects in each of them. He asserts that religious discourse in the public arena can offer a way for such environmental issues as biodiversity, pollution, and population to be addressed outside the realm of special-interest politics. And he urges local churches to make "caring for creation" a theme for worship in their services; the majority of Americans, says Oelschlager, will discover an environmental ethic only through their religious faith.

Many environmentalists have blamed the Judeo-Christian religious teaching that humankind has dominion over the earth for the ecological crisis. Oelschlaeger, professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of North Texas, challenges that argument with the thesis that belief in religion is a necessary condition for the resolution of the ecocrisis. He notes that religion has played a crucial role in national affairs; historically, religiously inspired social movements have had considerable political influence. Oelschlaeger sets out political goals for ecologically responsible Christians and suggests that the local church is the most likely forum for discussion of moral issues that overlap with politics. He explores creation stories to show how they might serve to unite all faiths in setting an environmental agenda. In a work of scholarship, Oelschlaeger provides fresh, valuable thoughts on how to inspire a mass ecological movement.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.