Is environmentalism a religion?

The Philosopher's Eye asks a topical question: Is environmentalism a religion?:




Every so often popular debate breaks out about whether belief in anthropogenic global warming is analogous to religious belief. These debates almost always turn into debates about whether environmentalism is a religion. Typically, one side maintains that the distinctive feature of religious belief is that it appeals to the supernatural, and so environmentalism isn’t a religion. The other side maintains that the distinctive feature of religious belief is the passion with which the belief is held, and so environmentalism, when it’s held passionately, is a religion.


I don't have a take on this, really. What I find interesting, though, is that whenever you come across this identification -- i.e. environmentalism-is-a-religion -- it is made by the anti-environmentalist without exception. What I am thinking now is

1. What does this tell about the role of religion in contemporary environmental discourse? Is it that anyone passionate about the fate of our planet is a fundamentalist driven by irrationalism?



2. Is there a coherent Christian view about (or within) the politics of environmentalism? I'd love to get an idea of the playing field here, so let me know of anything in the comments.



(Via The Philosopher's Eye.)



Mika

8 comments:

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 11:54

Greening the bible. Efforts are underway to reclaim the Bible for Christians who understand that environmental stewardship is a religious duty

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/dec/08/christian-environmentalism-green-bible

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 11:57

Helping Islam's green shoots grow. Indonesian Muslims are leading the religious environmentalism movement, but they could improve their treatment of animals

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/17/islam-indonesian-muslims-religious-environmentalism

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 11:59

We're doomed without a green religion.
Arguments about climate change show up the incoherence of any purely individual morality

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/nov/06/religion-atheism

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 12:00

Being green is no religion. A court ruling that environmentalism is akin to religious belief is bad news for science, and for efforts to tackle climate change

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/05/nicholson-climate-change-belief

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 12:03

Environmentalism: a new religion. The British demographic that is leaving the church seems to be the same one swelling the ranks of the environmental movement. Coincidence?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jun/25/environmentalism-religion

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 12:09

Religion can succeed where the environment movement has failed. God isn't someone who scares people into action. His message is of hope, not fear

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/23/religion-environment-movement

Tiina Seppälä | 29 January 2010 at 12:11

Will we establish a green religion? If the Tim Nicholson judgment is upheld, environmentalism will be entitled to the same protections as religion

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/sep/07/climate-change-employment-nicholson

Péter Losonczi | 1 February 2010 at 12:14

Environementalism can (easily) take the form of a "comprehensive doctribe" -- similarly to any other world views, including liberalism. And it can be moderate and radical, or even it can become a "fundamentalism" -- like other world views, including liberalism.
And yes, religion(s) may have important contribution to the discourse on environmental crisis.

Some related documents/books

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2002/june/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20020610_venice-declaration_en.html

http://www.oikoumene.org/

http://www.amazon.com/Ethos-Cosmos-Genesis-Moral-Imagination/dp/0802845398

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