Posted: August 14th, 2022

Biodiversity, Environmental Ethics and Theology

Biodiversity loss and environmental degradation pose serious ethical challenges. As humanity’s impact on the natural world grows, we must consider our moral responsibilities towards other species and future generations. This article will explore the links between biodiversity, environmental ethics and theology. It will argue that many religious traditions offer a framework for grounding environmental ethics in spiritual and philosophical principles. Protecting biodiversity is not just a scientific or political issue, but also a moral one that relates to our core values and worldviews.
Biodiversity and Its Importance
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, encompassing genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity. It is essential to the proper functioning of ecosystems and the provision of ecosystem services that support all life, including human societies. Biodiversity regulates climate and influences rainfall patterns. It pollinates crops, recycles nutrients, breaks down pollutants and provides resources for medicines, fuel and other products. Losing species reduces nature’s resilience to environmental stresses like climate change and undermines humanity’s long-term security (IPBES, 2019).
Unfortunately, human activities are driving unprecedented biodiversity loss. The 2019 Global Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that around 1 million animal and plant species face extinction, many within decades, due to factors including habitat loss, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species and climate change. This sixth mass extinction threatens devastating impacts on people around the world (IPBES, 2019). Given biodiversity’s importance to human well-being and the health of the planet, its protection should be a high ethical priority.
Religious Perspectives on Nature
Many religious traditions offer perspectives that can help ground environmental ethics. In Christianity, nature is viewed as God’s creation, infused with divine purpose and goodness. Genesis calls humanity to “till and keep” the garden, implying responsible stewardship of the Earth (Genesis 2:15). While some interpretations emphasize human dominance over nature, others stress humanity’s role as caretakers answerable to God. Theologians like St. Francis of Assisi emphasized humanity’s kinship with other species as God’s creatures (Daly & Cobb, 1994).
In Buddhism, nature is seen as impermanent and interdependent like all phenomena. Causing unnecessary harm violates compassion (Prabhavananda & Manchester, 1978). Hindu scriptures like the Vedas present nature as sacred. The Earth is a divine mother who nourishes all beings (Gadgil & Guha, 1992). In indigenous religions, the natural world often holds spiritual significance as the dwelling place of ancestors and deities. Places like sacred groves were conserved for their religious importance (Verschuuren et al., 2010).
Across faiths, a sense of wonder, gratitude and responsibility towards nature is woven into spiritual and community life. This offers a foundation for environmental ethics emphasizing non-domination and harmony between humanity and the Earth. While interpretations vary, most major religions see humans as integrally connected to nature rather than separate from or above it. Their perspectives can help address the root philosophical causes of the biodiversity crisis.
Environmental Stewardship in Theology
In recent decades, theologians have increasingly emphasized humanity’s role as stewards rather than masters of nature. For Christians, this draws on the Genesis mandate and Jesus’ teachings of service, humility and care for “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). Some theologians argue this implies protecting biodiversity out of reverence for God’s creation (Northcott, 2013).
Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ calls caring for nature “a profound obligation of justice, love, and truth” (§58). It links environmental degradation to ethical failures and calls all people to ecological conversion. The encyclical reflects growing ecotheology within Catholicism and other denominations. Religious leaders are recognizing humanity’s dependence on biodiversity and responsibility to curb the sixth mass extinction (Francis, 2015).
Interfaith groups like the Global Catholic Climate Movement also stress that protecting God’s works benefits all people, especially the poor most vulnerable to environmental harms. Their advocacy draws on shared spiritual values around justice, stewardship and care for future generations across religious divides. Such efforts show that faith can motivate practical action on biodiversity if grounded in sound theology (GCCM, n.d.).
Conclusion
In conclusion, religious worldviews offer a philosophical framework for grounding environmental ethics and valuing biodiversity. Across faiths, nature holds spiritual significance as God’s creation deserving protection. Theologies of stewardship emphasize humanity’s responsibility to curb extinctions as moral duties to the Creator and fellow creatures. As the climate crisis deepens biodiversity loss, religious perspectives will remain important for addressing the crisis at its philosophical roots. By nurturing wonder at nature’s diversity and compassion for vulnerable species, faith can help build an ethic of sustainability and interdependence between humanity and Earth.
References
Daly, H. E. & Cobb, J. B. Jr. (1994). For the common good: Redirecting the economy toward community, the environment, and a sustainable future. Beacon Press.
Francis. (2015). Laudato Si’: On care for our common home. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
Gadgil, M. & Guha, R. (1992). This fissured land: An ecological history of India. University of California Press.
GCCM. (n.d.). Our mission. Global Catholic Climate Movement. https://catholicclimatemovement.global/who-we-are/our-mission/
IPBES. (2019). Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. IPBES. https://ipbes.net/global-assessment
Northcott, M. S. (2013). A moral climate: The ethics of global warming. Orbis Books.
Prabhavananda, S. & Manchester, F. (1978). The Upanishads: Breath of the eternal. Signet.
Verschuuren, B. et al. (2010). Sacred natural sites: Conserving nature and culture. Earthscan.

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