Examining the Links Between Your Religious Beliefs and Environmental Attitudes

Participants engaged in an introspective examination of two components of their personal worldview: spirituality and environmental consciousness. The first part of the exercise involved completion of a survey (below) designed to identify environmental attitudes and behavior and facets of personal spirituality. The second part of the workshop involved group discussion of some of the themes that emerged when these two aspects of our worldviews were examined in an integrated context. Participants left the workshop with a more conscious awareness of the multiple facets of their personal worldviews and how different components of them intersect.

The survey below is for personal use only, not to be completed and submitted to the author.

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Indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. You may add a supplementary comment if you wish.

1. Earth, like a spaceship, only has limited room and resources.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

2. When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

3. Humans must live in harmony with nature in order to survive.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

4. Humankind is severely abusing the environment.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

5. Humans need not adapt to the natural environment because they can remake it to suit their needs.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

6. My purchasing habits affect people in other parts of the world.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

7. Caring for nature is a form of worship.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

8. I am a "world citizen."
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

9. Humankind was created to rule over the rest of nature.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

10. Humans have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

11. All creatures deserve to live, even those that harm human beings.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

12. Nature exists primarily to be used by humans.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

13. Human beings should view themselves as stewards or guardians of nature.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

14. Humanity's population has exceeded the ability of Earth to sustain itself.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

15. I purchase/consume more than I need.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

16. The community I live in inhibits my ability to act in an environmentally responsible manner.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

17. I would be willing to pay more taxes if the government used them to address environmental problems.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

18. Gasoline prices in my country are too high.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

19. I view my relationship with nature as interdependent and interconnected.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

20. All beings in nature have a spirit.
__ STRONGLY AGREE
__ MILDLY AGREE
__ NEUTRAL
__ MILDLY DISAGREE
__ STRONGLY DISAGREE

Comment:

The relationship between a person and the environment is one of mutual interaction. One way of viewing this relationship is to look at the effects the environment has on the individual. These may be positive, negative, or a combination.
To what extent are you inspired by the environment?
__ TOTALLY
__ A GREAT DEAL
__ SOMEWHAT
__ VERY LITTLE
__ NOT AT ALL

To what extent are you affected by the environment?
__ TOTALLY
__ A GREAT DEAL
__ SOMEWHAT
__ VERY LITTLE
__ NOT AT ALL

How does this inspiration/effect feel to you?

The person-environment relationship can also be viewed as being influenced by the person's religious or political beliefs. To what extent do your beliefs influence your relations with the environment?
__ TOTALLY
__ A GREAT DEAL
__ SOMEWHAT
__ VERY LITTLE
__ NOT AT ALL

How does this influence affect your relationship with the environment?

Finally, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of humanity?

About the future of the planet?

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