Role of Christianity in Evolution of Environmental Ethics

For Christianity to continue to be a living religious tradition it must modernize and adapt to remain relevant, and this is why environmental ethics evolved. Christians have shaped a system of ethics that contains the strong significance of stewardship encouraging the protection of the environment. Before this it wasn’t a priority or thought into environmental ethics because Christians had an anthropocentric view of the environment, conversely, this has now changed. There have been two approaches to environmental ethics within the church anthropocentric which considers humans of the most importance on earth and also bio-centric which considers that all living organisms should be equal. As an outcome of Christians reconsidering their views on the environment, there has been a push forward towards a creation-centered theology as an outcome of the anthropocentric and bio-centric views applying an alteration to Christianity. The divergent interpretations of environmental ethics reveal Christianity is a living religious tradition, responding to issues towards humanity through conscience, scripture, and teaching authority. Christians now respect God’s creation they will renounce deliberately destroying the environment. For the most part, Orthodox Churches have adapted to creation theology and spirituality more than the more cognitive spiritualities of Western Christianity. They respect creation-centered theology because they want to be ‘stewards’, this perception of concern for the usage of substantial belongings and for the care of God’s conceptions is a result of environmental ethics. As a result, there is a close connection between God’s world which he created this shows how Christianity changed to stay constant followers of him.

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Ethical teachings are fundamental to Christianity remaining a living religious tradition. The two ethical teachings that are both contained in the bible and ‘Laudato si’ are Stewardship of Creation, the principle of acting upon the duty of care, and Respect for God’s Creation, the human race's duty to treat the environment as they like to be treated. Recognized sources from the bible foundationally contribute by providing information concerning environmental ethics. The Old Testament, explains the relationship that God has with humanity and his creation. Christians are taught that they have an essential duty to care for all of what God’s created. They also acknowledge that God inspires humanity to live with a fruitful relationship with the earth. The old testament also says that “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis,2:15), which explains that the Earth will provide for human needs, though, humankind has a responsibility to protect the environment and ensure it remains fruitful. This verse from Genesis highlights the modern Christian understanding of stewardship where humankind is the steward of creation and must protect and cherish creation. Despite the fact that Deuteronomy 20:19 “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?” this explains not destroying something for the sake of destroying it just because it's in the way, Christian theologians have extended its significance to prohibit unwarranted obliteration of the environment. The importance of creation compared to the irrelevance of humankind is supported in Psalm 39. This chapter provides a basis for Christian environmental ethics. The early fundamentals of Scripture have offered Christian variants with a foundation for responding to modern-day challenges, as a living religious tradition.

On June 2015, Pope Francis released his encyclical ‘Laudato si’ ('Praise be to you') which addresses the issues within the world today. It has become an awakening worldwide to assist humankind to understand the devastation that man is rendering to the environment. Pope Francis’ encyclical is dedicated to informing Christians on how to act in order to maintain the earth the way that God intended for the world. In order to maintain what God created Christians and other religions must take “swift and unified global action” to help the prevention of global destruction of God’s creation. Pope Francis ‘Laudato si’ calls for global action relating to the importance of environmental ethics in the modern world. He explains how issues such as pollution, climate change, water, and biodiversity have become a major concern for individuals both in the religious world and the secular world. Throughout ‘Laudato Si’ the Pope has been critical of the message of taking “dominion over the earth” as mentioned in Genesis 1:28. This verse influenced many Christians to be uncaring towards the environment as it was seen as the right of humankind to have power over the earth. The Pope refers to the earth as, “Our common home” and throughout ‘Laudato si’, he makes sure that there is an emphasis on, “A relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature”. It explains how humans were formed from the earth and therefore we should work and take care of the Garden of Eden (Our Common Home, 2015). Many Christian denominations and organizations are responding to the ‘Laudato si’ message and have intended to address misunderstandings in regard to looking after the environment, by offering education to adherences concerning environmental ethics. The Catholic Church in Australia established an organization by the name of ‘Catholic Earthcare Australia, (CEA). The CEA aims to develop environmental practices and education, mostly to educate Bishops on environmental ethics. CEA has constructed many resources, including an environmental audit that can be used by organizations to evaluate their environmental implementations. Additionally, the National Council of Churches Australia (NCCA) confirmed a “decade to overcome violence”. This campaign concentrates on overcoming violence against the environment, emphasizing the efforts these organizations are going to in order to sustain the environment. This also exemplified the NCCA statement “sustaining creation”. This has also contributed to Christianity as a living religious tradition, as Christians have responded to issues of ethics using ethical teachings in order to remain relevant.