Author Description

Religion and Sustainability, a Berkshire Essential, explores the ties between humans and their environment across a wide range of perspectives: from Buddhism, Bahai, Hinduism, and Daoism to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as well as those of indigenous traditions around the world. The volume examines major theories in philosophy and environmental ethics, such as the concepts of deep ecology, theocentrism versus anthropocentrism (i.e., is God or humankind the center of the world), and the occasionally conflicting (but so often harmonious) roles of science and religion in relation to the world's environment. Other articles outline the various goals of sustainability: ecological integrity, economic health, human dignity, fairness to the future (intragenerational equity), and social justice.