Theological and Religious Approaches to Soil Stewardship - Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems - page 286

2010). Religions impart a multilayered influence on culture and human behavior and
are increasingly recognized as playing a critical and complementary role with science
in sustainable development (Gardner 2006; Tucker 2007; Palmer and Finlay 2003;
Hitzhusen 2007). More than 85% of the world's people identify themselves as mem-
bers of a religious or spiritual community (Central Intelligence Agency 2012), and as
such, religions serve as a lens through which most humans see and understand ethics
worldwide. If soil stewardship practices adequate to address contemporary challenges
are ever to germinate, set root, and bear fruit in significant measure, resonance of
those practices with religious systems of understanding and behavior will be indis-
pensable; soil science alone cannot inspire global soil stewardship. At the same time,
religion and theology have potential to play both a positive and a negative role, so it is
important to better understand these potentials if we wish religious influences to be
positive. Just as religion has historically played a role in mediating soil and land issues,
a proper synergy between religious influences, science, and policy can empower soil
stewardship as societies strive to meet the needs of growing populations.
12.2 RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES AND SOIL STEWARDSHIP
Issues of soil stewardship, of course, are as old as religion. Neolithic religions that
attended the origins of human agriculture focused on fertility; dharmic religions
originating on the Indian subcontinent developed concepts to revere and respect the
Earth; the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah bemoaned the desolation of land in ancient Israel;
Plato's Critias (ca. 360 BCE) lamented the erosion of soil in the Attican countryside
surrounding Athens; Jesus likened soil quality to the substance of human souls.* The
import of religious influences varies across a range of possible roles, from shaping
individual land users' values and behaviors to affecting community and cultural per-
spectives that lead to local practices or policies and to serving as a direct management
force over soil resources. The various examples described below illustrate religious
influence at multiple levels and represent different religious and cultural contexts, but
each case is informed by particular principles found in the belief systems of the region.
In whatever religious or cultural context soil scientists find themselves, understanding
the basic principles that might underlie and support local soil stewardship is essential.
One strategy for exploring environmentally relevant religious values is to exam-
ine specific soil stewardship instructions within religious traditions, such as Sabbath
restrictions as applied to farming practices in Judaism and Christianity, † or the soil-
sensitive Balinese Hindu and Japanese Shinto examples described below. But in
addition to such soil-specific prescriptions of varying contemporary salience, reli-
gious traditions posit fundamental principles that shape perspectives on the relations
between humans, soil, and the divine or spiritual realm. Whether through direct
* Hughes 1975, 26-27; Lal 2010, 304; Jeremiah 12:10-11, 13; Hughes 1994, 69; Mt 13:3. In this chapter,
references to the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament will be formatted in footnotes and in text
by listing abbreviated book name (http://hbl.gcc.edu/abbreviationsCHICAGO.htm), chapter number,
and verse number, as in the following example: Mt 13:3-8 = book of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 3-8.
† Observance varies among Jewish farmers, and regulations governing observance are complex (Kuber
2007); Christian Sabbath practice has probably declined in the face of modern agricultural economics
and agribusiness (Wirzba 2006, 37).