Religious Traditions and Environmental Stewardship

Reverend Clare Butterfield, Executive Director of Faith in Place in Chicago, Illinois, works with over 700 congregations of all faiths, to help them connect with what their faith teaches about environmental stewardship. In this video, Rev. Butterfield explains that different religions have different teachings that relate to environmental stewardship. For example, in the Bahai faith, people understand that the natural world reflects the nature and presence of the Creator, so that whatever people do to nature is done to the Creator. This relational view is familiar to the Judeo-Christian teachings with which many Americans are most familiar.

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In Islam, Rev. Butterfield explains that a key teaching of the Koran is balance. Islamic Scriptures teach that people need not take more than they need, which translates into moderation in the use of natural resources. So when it comes to different religious traditions, there are lessons about moderation, and rel