Biodiversity and Spirituality

Larry Gibson was an exceptionally courageous and spirited defender of the Earth. He was not alone.
Courageous individuals and groups throughout the world are preserving Earth’s biodiversity today in the
face of powerful challenges. When they do so, they are drawing on their inner strengths and convictions.

People like Larry Gibson and Wangari Maathai (see Inspired People box) invite you to look into your own
convictions, the things you truly believe in, the things that make you who you are. These core beliefs
express your inner spirit, or spirituality.

If biodiversity fails to feel like something important and valuable to us, then no amount of scientific
information or ethical argument will likely inspire us to act. This is why it is so important that more and
more people experience a ‘change of heart’ in their relationship to the natural world. As the Jesuit report
on ecology (Healing a Broken World), says: “. . .to overcome the part we play in [Earth’s] widespread
destruction” it is not enough to intellectually recognize the integrity of creation.”1 More is needed. That
‘more’ is a ‘change of heart’.

Dr. Wangari Maathai was an activist for biodiversity and justice in her native Kenya and throughout Africa.
She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to combat deforestation. Since then, the movement has
inspired the planting of over 51 million trees in Africa. Dr. Maathi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She
died in 2011. 2

Attention to our heart, or ‘inner spirit’ helps us identify our true attitudes. If our hearts are indifferent to
Earth’s array of life and we would like to change that, it can be instructive to look at how other people
honor Earth’s natural diversity. Often this honoring is connected to spiritual traditions within the
world’s religions. We now turn to this subject, recalling two questions posed in the case study that opened
this chapter:

How have humans approached the nature and meaning of biodiversity from a spiritual perspective?
What aspects of spirituality might we draw on today to help us address the problem of declining
biodiversity?

Read the Jesuit document Healing a Broken World.

Biodiversity and Sacred Space

With its unfathomable variety of microscopic organisms, blossoming plants, towering trees, crawling
insects, slithering amphibians, darting fish, soaring birds, and stunning mammals, Earth is a place of
teeming diversity. From time immemorial, many people have felt a sense of awe in the presence of this
spectacular variety of life. Biologist E.O. Wilson has even put a name to this feeling: biophilia. Wilson
 3
believes all of us have a deep-down sense of connection toward the natural world. Some people
experience this connection as something ‘awesome’. Being in awe of a beautiful mountain, river, or even a
leaf is a form of spiritual experience, a feeling St. Augustine tried to explain as “more inward than my
inmost depths” (interior ultimo meo) and “beyond my utmost heights” (superior summo meo). In these
cases, it is not your appreciation for the instrumental value of nature that you are experiencing. Rather, it
is the non-visible, intrinsic value of nature that your whole being is experiencing through the medium of
nature’s concrete structures and processes.

A Lascaux cave painting circa. 18,000 BCE-10,000 BCE. [efn_note] By Cro-Magnon peoples
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALascaux2.jpg [/efn_note]

To share this awesome, spiritual experience of nature, humans often turn to art, music, literature, or ritual.
In fact, the earliest forms of human artistic expression are precisely that: paintings that connect the
diversity of nature with spiritual power. The Lascaux cave paintings in France, for example, reflect both the
wonder held by human beings in prehistoric times for the diversity of animal life and the spiritual power
they associated with it. Though much is still unknown about these incredible works of art, a common
interpretation is that they were part of a spiritual ritual, possibly an initiation rite for young hunters.

Take a tour of the Lascaux cave and learn more about the relationship between the cave paintings of
animals and spirituality.

Mijikenda elders prepare for a sacred

ceremony in the Kaya forest. Watch
this video about how the Mijikenda
people link the diversity of nature
with their spiritual lives.[efn_note]
Mijikenda elders, Kenya. Credit:
IIED/Creative Commons Source:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/iied/56
83216711/in/photolist-5j6QM5-515m
Em-5etexj-5eJCY3-
C6QUP-5eoPKT-5eJDb9-
f6DijD-2vvPCG-
C6REs-9Ed9JP-9EcYk2-65b6GG-9EcY
m4-9EfSWG-9EcYnr-7JVLXc-8fYt1Q-5e
tdr9-C6Rka-C6RqK-C6R8r-C6RHn-
C6RwP-C6QLw-C6Ro8-C6QSf-C6R4v-
C6Rig-cm35gm-JCiqR-cL1YJh-fAaacN-
CxRSQ-3KSEr7-5YWC3U-5YMdNN-
cm2NzG-a3PYQi-3KSEij-9Eg4bQ-
cukkj7-4MaMW9-c4gDhd-cm9UN7-
eUhbZ8-cukizW-8xzxba-8SpJFa-nax6u
[/efn_note]

Sharing this spirit, Indigenous People of various tribal heritages around the world have long identified
areas of lush diversity as sacred places. Like the Mirrar people of Australia introduced in this chapter’s
opening case study, the Mijikenda people of coastal Kenya conduct their religious ceremonies in the Kaya
Forests. These forests contain over 187 plant species, 48 bird species, 45 butterfly species, and 19 small
animal species. For thousands of years, the Mijikenda have used this forest diversity for sacred ceremonies
that include:

rituals for the sick

prayers for good harvest
prayers for protection by ancestral spirits
rites of passage
anointing of new elders
rituals of atonement for offenses against nature.

The Chipko Movement began

in 1974 when Indian women
protected trees from
lumbermen. [efn_note] By moi
(moi) [Public domain], via
Wikimedia Commons Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi
pko_movement [/efn_note]

The protection of sacred groves and gardens is also a common practice in Hinduism. In the ancient texts
and epics of the Hinduism, many natural sites possess sacred power. Anthropologists and historians have
surveyed over 40,000 groves of this kind in India.

In 1974, 27 Indian women in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand joined hands around ash trees to prevent
lumbermen from cutting them down for producing tennis rackets. This act of “hugging” trees generated
the Chipko Movement, a group activity which seeks environmental conservation and social justice. Tree
hugging was not just a way to protect a resource, it was also a way for the people to express their respect
for the sacred status of trees. The Chipko movement is alive and strong today, currently protesting a
proposal to cut down trees in central Delhi.

A central concept of Islam is tawheed or ‘the unity of God‘. Allah is unity, a oneness reflected in the unity
of humanity and nature. The Qur’an reads: “There is not an animal (that lives) on the Earth, nor a being
that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you.” In this spirit, the prophet Mohammad
established himas, or protected areas of land and water, for the common welfare.

Despite its pressing political challenges, the Middle East is witnessing a resurgence of the Muslim hima
tradition. Learn more at the EcoMENA website. In Lebanon, this spiritual tradition has returned through the
work of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPLN). The SPLN supports a system of
protected habitats containing plant diversity and endangered wildlife.

As you learned in the Biodiversity and Ethics section, several international organizations are working to
protect Earth’s biodiversity. They are doing this by, among other things, identifying sacred natural sites
honored by Indigenous People, Hindus, Muslims, and other religious groups around the world. As the
authors of Beyond Belief: Linking Faiths and Protected Areas to Support Biodiversity Conservation state:

Sacred areas are probably the oldest form of habitat protection on the planet and still form a
large and mainly unrecognized network of sanctuaries around the world.4

And if we think of the world ocean, with all its life and diversity, as a sacred space, we find that various
faith traditions, with their vast resources, can work together to honor and protect that space. Interfaith
Oceans provides a wealth of ocean-related faith resources from various religious traditions, including
indigenous. Much like Healing Earth, this organization takes an integrative approach that stresses science
and religion working together.

Have you ever been in nature and felt a sense of awe over its magnificent diversity? Did you ever
express your experience to others? If so, how? By a story? A photograph? A sketch? A poem? A
song?
If the diversity of the natural world has ever struck you with a sense of awe, would you identify this
as a ‘spiritual’ experience? Why or why not?

Biodiversity in Spiritual Life

The world’s religions have not confined their celebration of biodiversity to the designation of sacred sites.
Some religions hold that Earth’s natural variety teaches something about the spiritual character of human
beings and of God.

Biodiversity and the Spiritual Nature of Humanity

Some Indigenous People believe that a sacred kinship exists between themselves and various elements of
the Earth. The Sioux Indians of North America say “Mitakuye Oyasin”, meaning “we are all related”. The
‘we’ in this relationship includes humans, animals, trees, mountains, rocks, and rivers. In traditional Sioux
practice, a young person finds their identify through a vision quest. The young person goes into nature to
receive a guardian spirit from an element of the Earth or from a member of the insect or animal world. If
the vision quest is successful, the guardian spirit will remain with the person for life, protecting and guiding
them according to its unique power.

Watch this video to learn more about the Sioux Vision Quest.

Some Jain monks wear face masks to

prevent swallowing insects. Jains
believe injury to any living thing
negatively affects the migration of
the soul. [efn_note] Shree Diwakar
Prakashan (Owner Mr. Sanjay
Surana)[Public domain] Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Jain_Sthanakvasi_monk.jpg
[/efn_note]

Jainism is one of the oldest living religions. Jains believe that all parts of nature have a soul, or Jiva. After
either a specified time (as with water or rocks) or at physical death (as with plants, insects, or animals),
the soul migrates from one form of nature to another. In this way, a human being’s soul can reflect the
spiritual diversity within all of nature.

Similarly, in Chinese Taoism all the spiritual forces of nature are believed to interpenetrate the human
body. Balance between these spiritual forces is the path, or “Tao of harmony”. As Lao Tzu, the 6th century
father of Taoism, wrote:

In harmony with Tao

The sky is clear and spacious
The earth is solid and full
All creatures flourish together
Content with the way they are
Endlessly repeating themselves
Endlessly renewed.

When humanity interferes with Tao

The sky becomes filthy
The earth becomes depleted
The equilibrium crumbles
Creatures become extinct.5

It is astonishing how Lao Tzu’s insights from fifteen centuries ago apply to today’s environmental issues.
The ancient religion of Buddhism teaches that all aspects of existence, including the human mind and
physical body, the natural world, and societal structures, are intricately interconnected. As a result of this
interconnectedness, the way in which humans interact with each other and all other lifeforms has a
significant impact on the well-being of the planet and all its inhabitants. Therefore, one of the most
important aspects of Buddhism is the cultivation of a spirituality of reverence and compassion for all life.

Traditional Buddhist teaching encourages individuals to limit their resource consumption to only that which
is needed to satisfy the four basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare. This teaching is
consonant with the call from environmentalists to adopt behaviors that take seriously the fact that some
natural resources are limited and non-renewable.

Biodiversity and the Attributes of God

17th century Flemish painter Jan

Brueghel the Younger depicted God’s
delight in creation. [efn_note] Jan
Breughel (II) [Public domain], via
Wikimedia Commons Source:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/God
[/efn_note]

In the spiritual traditions of Judaism and Christianity, the diversity of the natural world teaches humanity
something about the nature of God. In one of the most well-known passages from the Jewish Torah and the
Christian Old Testament, God created the earth, seas, plants, animals, and humans, and “looked at
everything he had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1:31).

A drawing of the Great Chain of Being

by Diego Valades (1579). Working with
ancient philosophical concepts,
medieval Christian theologians
developed the idea of God as the grand
architect of a hierarchical structure that
linked everything from trees to angels
in a “great chain of being”. [efn_note]
By Didacus Valades (Diego Valades)
(Rhetorica Christiana) [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_e
volutionary_thought [/efn_note]
Later Christian theologians considered the diversity of nature to be a mirror of God’s unfathomable
goodness. The 13th century theologian, Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Summa Theologica that

…because God’s goodness could not be adequately represented by any single creature, God
produced many and diverse creatures, that what one lacked in representing divine goodness
6
might be supplied by another.

In another of his writings, Aquinas said,

“it is clear that nature is nothing but a certain kind of art, i.e., the divine art.”7

Moving into the modern world, the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States wrote in their 1991
pastoral statement Renewing the Earth, that Earth’s natural diversity manifests a “sacramental universe,”
a world disclosing “the Creator’s presence by visible and tangible signs.”8

God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign. From the

6th century Vienna Genesis, the oldest
illustrated biblical manuscript known to exist.
[efn_note] Permission granted, Index of
Christian Art, Department of Art &
Archaeology, Princeton University Source:
https://theindex.princeton.edu/s/SearchWorksO
fArt.action#searchResult [/efn_note]

Recalling the thought of Aquinas, the pastoral letter of the bishops of the Philippines says diversity in
nature teaches us something about the artistry of God. Forests and seas, write the bishops, “are God’s
masterpieces, through which he displays his power, ingenuity and love for his creation.”9

When the bishops of the Philippines analyzed the destruction of their country’s biodiversity, they
concluded: “We will not be successful in our efforts to develop a new attitude towards the natural world
unless we are sustained and nourished by a new vision.”10 To be true to the needs of God’s creation, this
vision must emerge from a sincere spirit of gratitude for biodiversity and courage to protect it.

One inspiring biblical story of vision and gratitude is the rainbow God sends to Noah after the great flood.
The rainbow represents the new covenant between God, humans, and the entire Earth. According to the
bishops of the Philippines, Christians are descendants of this covenant and “called to protect endangered
ecosystems.” They go on to say,

…more and more we must recognize that the commitment to work for justice and to
 preserve the integrity of creation are two inseparable dimensions of our Christian
vocation to work for the coming kingdom of God.11

Read What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land, the Philippine Bishops’ pastoral letter on Ecology.

On the basis of our scientific knowledge, ethical norms, and spiritual commitment, how might we act to
preserve and protect Earth’s biodiversity? This question moves us to our section on Biodiversity and
Action.

Indigenous people, Jains, Taoists, and others sense a spiritual connection between human life and
the diversity of the natural world. Can you imagine what they might identify as a threat to this
connection? Explain.
If someone asked you to draw the relationship between biodiversity and spirituality, what would
your drawing look like?