The Relationship Between Religion, Spirituality, and the Environment - No Plagiarism or Lateness

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Is Gottlieb right that environmental activism needs religion/spirituality? Why or why not? Defend your answer with reference to the assigned readings. How could the spirituality of deep ecology help the environmental movement? Is deep ecology a more promising basis of spirituality than other more traditional religions such as Christianity? Why or why not?



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Running head: RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Religion, Spirituality and the Environment
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RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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Religion, Spirituality and the Environment
Environmentalism has risen to counter the rising development of the environmental crisis
evidenced today. The merging of religion and spirituality with environmental activism has been
defined by scholars such as Gottlieb (2010) as the key to effectively addressing the
environmental crisis. This paper will analyze the need for environmental activism to integrate
with religion and spirituality and the impact of deep ecology on the environmental movement. It
will also address the premise of deep ecology being the basis of spirituality as compared to
traditional religious foundations such as Christianity.
Environmental activism and spirituality
Environmental activism is incomplete without spirituality or religion. Environmental
activism needs to be integrated with spirituality to gain momentum in the current society; this is
because religion seeks to create fairness in the world and shapes the personalities of people.
Environmental activism is seen as an isolated movement pushed by liberals but when infused
with spirituality it provides a universality across all religious platforms, and it becomes a
movement of all people to protect the earth (Harper, 2008). Spirituality identifies the need to take
care of all things, and this enhances the role of environmentalism in society. Spirituality helps to
strengthen the environmental movements through providing a positive and broader vision that
people can be aligned to, as noted by Gottlieb (2010). Environmental activism, when merged
with spirituality, creates greater focus and support for the cause as it helps to align religious
masses with this new frame of thinking. Spirituality helps to connect the differing opinions to
support the need for environmental activism. Spirituality helps to develop an intrinsic value of
the environment and thus furthering the cause of environmental activism as it creates a broader
following.

RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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Influence of the spirituality of deep ecology on the environmental movement
Deep ecology is defined as a philosophy that emphasis on the sacred relationship between
humans, the earth as well as all beings. Deep ecology seeks to support an inquiry into acceptable
roles of humans on earth as well as the fundamental understanding of how actions influence the
ecological system (Barnhill & Gottlieb, 2010). It is based on the premise of respect and
understanding of the impact of human behaviors on all beings on earth and the earth itself. The
spirituality of deep ecology acts to alter the trajectory of the relationship between nature and
humans. The spirituality of deep ecology helps to create a moral imperative for the people to
adjust the way they view nature. The spirituality of deep ecology helps to sustain the behaviors
of people towards environmental conservation (Barnhill & Gottlieb, 2010). Environmental
activism is focused on preventing actions that seek to harm the ecological system, but the
infusion of spirituality in deep ecology helps to develop a positive attitude towards addressing
environmental concerns allowing the people to be leaders of environmental conservation in their
own right and at the grassroots level (Jenkins & Chapple, 2011). The spirituality of deep
ecology, therefore, helps to break down political, social and economic barriers to environmental
activism by making it a universal theme that cuts across religious groups, ethnicity, race and
other aspects that bring about division.
Deep ecology as a premise basis of spirituality
Deep ecology is based on the premise that all life human and nonhuman is equal and has
inherent value and whose survival is based on the flourishing of the earth. The spirituality of
deep ecology provides a new and positive dimension to view the role of humans on earth and the
behaviors that define the life of humans (Barnhill & Gottlieb, 2010). Deep ecology provides a
basis of spirituality, but its basis of spirituality is not more promising than that of Christianity

RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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and other traditional religions. The traditional religions provide a more detailed focus on
spirituality and its role in guiding human life. Religions articulate spirituality at the physical and
the metaphysical levels as compared to deep ecology which only focuses on the sacred nature of
the physical level that is earth.
Conclusion
Environmental activism needs spirituality to create a universal approach to conserving
the environment. Spirituality seeks to promote intrinsic motivation towards conserving the
environment. The spirituality of deep ecology enhances the environmental m...


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