Why Do People of Faith Care About Creation?
Caring for the Earth is a fundamental part of religious faith. Nearly every major faith tradition and Christian denomination has a statement about the need to respect, enjoy, and protect God’s gift of the world around us. Read a collection of denominational creation care statements.
Underlying these statements are a set of core values that speak to the heart of religious morals and ethics: spirituality, stewardship, sustainability, and justice.
Spirituality
Creation
itself inspires us and calls us to care. Many people have had their
most profound spiritual experience in nature. As we behold the power
and love of God in a mountain range, a sunset, or in the timelessness
of the ocean, we can’t help but be moved. But creation also includes
humans – our families, communities, and created landscapes. God
created all things of Heaven and Earth and God is our inspiration to care
for both wild places and our own cities and backyards.
Stewardship
Psalm 24 states that “the Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” Humans simply hold the Earth in trust for God. We are tenants here, called to care for the creation on behalf of future generations and all species. The Bible calls us to “till and keep the garden” and names human beings as the trustees of creation. Because God created all the Earth and all of us, creation is beautiful and good and sacred. We are called by our devotion to God and our love for God’s works to protect it.
Sustainability
At the heart of sustainability is the goal of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In a world of finite resources, those among us who have more than enough must address patterns of consumption so that we can provide for all. Acquiring more “stuff” has a direct effect on the sustainability of the planet and on the quality of life for people around the globe. The good news is that more and more people are realizing that spiritual emptiness can’t be filled by consumption. What makes us happy is intimacy – intimacy with self, with others, and with God. In the end, sustainability means seeing ourselves and our neighbors as children of God, not as consumers or competitors for Earth’s resources.
Justice
Justice means that in addition to providing aid to our neighbors, we
are called to change societal systems that cause poverty, injustice,
and environmental damage in the first place. It goes beyond helping to
meet physical needs to creating a society with laws and policies that
allow the needs of all Earth’s inhabitants to be met. Care and
responsibility for the “least of these among us” is a central 
tenant of
Christianity and has a direct connection to environment issues. The
impact of environmental degradation falls most heavily on the people
around the world who are least able to mitigate these impacts — poor
and vulnerable populations. It also disproportionally affects fragile
plants, animals and ecosystems. Working for justice calls us to
channel our faith into power, to call for social and environmental
justice at the local, state and national level.
