THE BIBLE

The Bible is the primary religious text of the Christian faith. Throughout the book, there are multiple references to animals and nature. Nevertheless, when it comes to promoting positive attitudes towards animals and the environment, the sentiments fall on both sides of the fence.

There are instances in the Bible, where humans are encouraged to see themselves as equal to animals. An example would be the following verse:

Proverbs 12:10: “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”

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This verse shows how in order to be righteous, humans have to show care and concern for animals and nature. Hence, it does serve as a form of motivation for mankind to strive towards caring for animals. However, is the motivation achieved intrinsic? Or is the care shown to animals only for attaining righteousness? It could be both! In the pursuit of righteousness, mankind might develop genuine care and love for nature, which would be the best-case scenario.

However, there are verses where it is conveyed how mankind is superior to animals and wildlife, and how these animals are to be reigned by humans. One verse that illustrates this idea is:

Psalm 8:6-9: “You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

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In this verse, the imagery of animals being placed under the feet of humans by God conveys the idea that mankind has been given absolute authority over the lives of these creatures – in fact, it degrades the lives and rights of these animals completely. Translating this notion to mankind could lead to them having an elitist mentality about their place in the ecosystem, which could lead to them taking the environment and the lives of other living creatures for granted.

While animals were slotted under humans’ feet in the previous verse, another verse places a member of the animal kingdom above mankind – the ant, as per the following verse:

Proverbs 6:6-8: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

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In this verse, God directs mankind to learn from an insect, the ant. The ant is praised for being able to take control of its own life, and the human is chided as a ‘sluggard’ that is probably unable to control his life like the ant. Praising the small ant over humans shows that God also gives heavy importance to other living creatures and not just mankind, and hence all living things need to be respected, learned from, and cared for. This would encourage humans to admire and relate to these animals, and hence they would refrain from inflicting harm on them.

Therefore, while the Bible places animals and nature as subservient to humans, it also does include notions where humans need to respect and look up to these animals. This provides a mixed message about how Christianity advocates care for the environment, but also a disparagement of nature, which could result in both pro-environmental and anti-environmental sentiments.

Now that we have an idea of how animals are portrayed in religious texts and how the notions humans have about nature could be influenced by these references, we can learn more about other religious practices and their links to nature.

Click here to find out how the diets practiced by different religions may play a role in influencing the attitudes humans carry towards the lives of other living beings.