Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 11.1
Selected religious perspectives on consumption
Faith
Perspective
Baha'i faith “In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to
excess, it will prove a source of evil.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of
Baha'u'llah)
Buddhism “Whoever in this world overcomes his selfi sh cravings, his
sorrows fall away from him, like drops of water from a lotus
fl ower.” (Dhammapada, 336)
Christianity “No one can be the slave of two masters. . . . You cannot be
the slave both of God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
Confucianism “Excess and defi ciency are equally at fault.” (Confucius,
XI.15)
Daoism “He who knows he has enough is rich.” (Dao De Jing)
Hinduism “That person who lives completely free from desires, without
longing . . . attains peace.” (Bhagavad-Gita, II.71)
Islam “Eat and drink, but waste not by excess: He loves not the
excessive.” (Quran, 7.31)
Judaism “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” (Proverbs, 30:8)
Source:
G. T. Gardner,
Inspiring Progress
(New York: Norton, 2006).
A recent poll found that 67 percent of Americans believe that harming
the environment is a sin.
18
In 2008 and 2009, the Vatican offi cially
agreed, listing pollution as an area of sinful behavior for today's believers
and urged people to show more respect for the environment. The pope
noted that there are signs that “creation is under threat” and said that
government leaders have an obligation to work together for the “protec-
tion of the environment, and the safeguarding of resources and of the
climate.” He suggested that there should be more research into alterna-
tive energy and that industrialized countries should lower their energy
consumption through technology or greater “ecological sensitivity”
among individuals. “It is becoming more and more evident that the issue
of environmental degradation challenges us to examine our lifestyle and
the prevailing models of consumption and production, which are often
unsustainable from a social, environmental and even economic point of
view.”
19
That same day, January 2, 2010, leaders from the Southern Baptist
Convention released a concurring statement: “There is undeniable evi-
dence that the Earth—wildlife, water, land and air—can be damaged by
human activity, and that people suffer as a result.”
