**3. Some specific religious regulations about environmental protection**

Pope Francis has surprised the world with his encyclical *Laudato Si'* (2015).11 The document propagates an inclusive ecology combined with economic reform. It points to the problems of the poor countries which suffer the most under the ecological crisis. "The interconnectedness of all creatures (not only human beings) invites to acknowledge the worth and dignity in love and admiration".

The encyclical develops this concept in five sections: ecology of the environment; cultural ecology; ecology of daily life; the principle of the common good; and: justice among the generations.

*Ecology of the environment* (1) should prevent the human being from considering nature as a mere object outside himself. Resorting to the notion of creation (instead of the more physical term nature) the interconnectedness of all creatures and creation as a gift of God are stressed. From the outset, the human being is implicated in the notion of "creation." The notion of nature with its duality of culture is less clear in that respect. The encyclical rejects fatalistic approaches to the ecological crisis by stating that an overly anthropocentric approach to the world has caused a one-sided exploitation of the earth.

Surprisingly, concern for the destruction of *local cultures* (2) is also one of the topics about the ecological crisis. Destruction of large forests often go hand in hand with

<sup>8</sup> If a dualism between body and mind may have fostered such an anthropocentric reading, the philosopher Descartes may have been the culprit, as he laid the foundation for a "ghost in the machine" concept of the human being.

<sup>9</sup> One of the first to bring forward this accusation is [4].

<sup>10</sup> The shared interest for the animal sacrifice as the basic religious attitude has surprisingly fostered affinities between Hinduism and Judaism. The same holds good for the bodily orientation towards purity rules. See my book: [5].

<sup>11</sup> See the overview in: [6].

oppression of local cultures. These locals could be of service as keepers of the forests and of wildlife.

*The ecology of daily life* (3) should analyze the way people live together in towns and suburbs. The feeling of togetherness can be enhanced by a humane architecture in which people do not feel lost or superfluous.

The *common good* (4) presupposes the respect for the human person and the human rights.

Last but not the least, *justice among the generations* (5) introduces a new notion of responsibility, in which future generations are included as well as the respect for the heritage of past generations.

The encyclical ends with introducing the term: ecological conversion. Conversion to God and to creation is the only way to spiritually combat the ecological crisis we are in.

Turning to Judaism: The Jewish scholar and Rabbi Norman Solomon distinguishes six basic principles in the Jewish approach to the environment [7]:


Islam may be less known for its environmental thought. Still already in the Middle Ages, the animals are told to start a lawsuit against the human beings because of the bad treatment by the latter.13 The Islamic scholar Abdelilah Ljamai brings forward a plethora of literature about environmental care, hardly known in Europe and America [9]. Some of the Muslim writers he quotes are critical about the way Islamic countries deal with the environment. They resort to the Qur'an, to post-Quranic narratives, and to Islamic jurisprudence in order to develop an Islamic environmental ethics. The worldview of the Islam consists of three principles:

<sup>12</sup> However, the obligation to keep the camp in the desert clean (Deuteronomy 23:13), brought forward by Solomon, op. cit. 252, as an example of environmental care, does not seem to be very appropriate, as the garbage is allowed to be thrown outside the camp! This is quite similar to the European habit to dump chemical waste in Arica.

<sup>13</sup> See the Sufi text, probably from the 10th century: [8].

1.The cosmos reflects the glory of God;14

2.The cosmos may be taken into service of humankind;

3.Destruction of nature is a gross form of injustice.

Nonhuman beings have an intrinsic value and hence, the concept of rights of animals is not alien to Islam, as our example above has shown.

Striking are the practical exhortations, often backed up with some saying allegedly going back to Muhammad: plant trees; revive dead soil (one is even entitled to become the owner); prohibition to pollute the air; moderate eating; careful handling of water resources (prohibition to defecate); withdrawal of water for one's own field should not happen at the expense of other farmers. Both in traditional Islamic sources and in modern publications emphasis upon the rights of animals and the rejection of cruel treatment of animals can be found [11].
