Should Christians Be Environmentalists? Part Seven *

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Why Did Tribal People Live in Fear of the Spiritual World?

This article will demonstrate that the religious beliefs of all aboriginal or tribal cultures (animism) prevent them from being a dependable foundation for environmental ethics and stewardship.

In my last blog article, we saw that the religion of all tribal societies is collectively called animism. The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions defines animism as “The belief that all of reality is pervaded or inhabited by spirits or souls; the belief that all of reality is in some sense animate.” The operative word in this definition is “spirits.” The fundamental doctrine of animism (and the central belief of all tribal religions) is that most (if not all) living things are endowed with spirits that have intelligence and volition identical to that of people. It’s believed, for example, that many wild animals function similar to humans. They possess emotions and have the ability to reason and speak (although they usually remain silent). In fact, many animists believe that animals often have greater power and are more cunning than people. Spirits may also dwell in inanimate objects and natural phenomena such as trees, rocks, lightning, rivers, lakes, caves, mountains, and countless other strategic places. As Pocahontas sang in the Disney movie of the same name, “I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name.”

Unlike in the movie Pocahontas, however, these spirits are not necessarily friendly. Whatever their locale, they are considered unpredictable. They may be either malevolent or benevolent, and people must be extremely careful not to offend them.

Although most tribal cultures acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being, religious activities focus on the spirit world. Through sacrifices, prayers, and especially rituals, tribal people hope to appease the host of spirits that lurk throughout nature. The purpose of these activities is not to praise the spirits or nature itself, but to ward off evil, such as sickness and barrenness of wives, and to enlist the aid of spiritual forces to help the tribe enjoy the good things in life: many children, successful hunting, plenty of food, wealth, respect, and long life. The belief that a potentially hostile spirit world permeates all of nature is key to understanding the motivation behind many nature-honoring rituals—and tribal societies’ apparent reverence for nature. It turns out that this “reverence” is based more on fear than veneration.

Fear of Nature

Contrary to the claims of many environmentalists (and Hollywood), tribal people regard nature with a combination of awe, reverence, and dread. The frightening world of tribal cultures is the domain not only of hostile spirits, but also witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, curses, bad omens, strict taboos, and angry ancestors. In short, fear is a constant companion in tribal cultures. So, on the one hand, tribal cultures possess a sense of kinship, respect, dependence, and gratitude toward their natural environments. On the other hand, every event in life—health, safety, marriage, childbirth, hunting, sowing, and building—is potentially at the mercy of harmful spiritual forces that must be appeased. If not placated, barrenness, disease, drought, floods, fires, and a host of other calamities may befall the tribe.

Although religious beliefs and practices observed in tribal cultures are closely bound to nature, revering nature for nature’s sake is not their intent. Any apparent concern for nature’s welfare arising out of tribal religions is a side effect, a by-product, and not doctrine. Ecological sensitivity is incidental to acts of appeasement toward a hostile spiritual world. It is not due to a benevolent relationship among deity, humans, and nature. This is not to say that tribal people cannot feel a sense of wonder, awe, and reverence toward nature alongside of religious beliefs. Of course they can, just the same as any other human being. Moreover, many tribal people today have a genuine, heartfelt desire to live in harmony with nature and promote environmental stewardship. But such reverence and desire are without a theological framework. Animism contains no religious principles or doctrines that give specific instructions on environmental stewardship.

If modern environmentalists turn to tribal religions for moral principles on which to develop environmental ethics and for guidance in environmental stewardship, they will be bonding with religious beliefs that are historically grounded in fear and in the desire to manipulate nature to benefit people.

But what about Eastern religions, in particular Hinduism and Buddhism? Are the better equipped theologically than Christianity to foster environmental ethics and guidelines for environment stewardship? We’ll explore this in my next blog article. ©

* The blog articles in this series are adapted from my book Should Christians Be Environmentalists?, published by Kregel Publications in 2012. The blog articles do not contain all the chapters, data, quotes, references, or my personal experiences, which the book includes. So, for “the rest of the story” you will need to purchase the book, which is available in both paperback and Kindle. This and the following articles are copyrighted material and may not be reproduced in book or article form. But feel free to send links to these articles to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, Twitter followers, or other people who may enjoy them. I encourage interested reader to subscribe to my blog or request to be added to my personal email list. This will ensure that you receive notices whenever I post a new blog article or other ministry related materials.

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