The Nevada Sagebrush

Susannah Lee

To deal with the energy crisis, a radical social shift needs to occur for Americans to see energy as a social good and not an individual right. One of the ways this shift can happen is through religion, a method for affecting social change that has been used for centuries and is still extremely effective.

The Sustainable Energy Forum, an Associated Students of the University of Nevada-recognized student organization dedicated to affecting this kind of change had Professor Gary Cage as its first speaker of the semester. Cage focused his lecture on the role religion can play in environmental and energy concerns.

I am not advocating or denying the validity of any belief system, but religious doctrines can greatly influence their followers’ actions and attitudes toward a particular subject. Knowledge of that group’s doctrine is a powerful tool as a starting point for “green” dialogue.

Cage is a philosophy professor and has taught a world religions diversity course at the University of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Community College.

His presentation briefly outlined the fundamentals of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Tribalism and Jinn and how each religion might or might not support environmental and energy concerns.

Cage first said that although these religions do not explicitly deal with the issue of conservation because they were founded when these issues were “nonexistent,” there are still religious doctrines that are supportive of environmental awareness.

In Judeo-Christian scriptures, Cage pointed out passages that were environmentally supportive, ranging from care of land to treatment of animals. Furthermore, Cage talked about the importance of stewardship in Judeo-Christian religions. Stewardship is a loving concern for those in need and a social awareness of moral correctness. I would like to think robbing the Earth of its resources and leaving future generations a polluted and impoverished world would be an outrage to this Judeo-Christian sense of moral and social responsibility.

When speaking about Islam, Cage talked about the prophet Muhammad and his childhood.

Muhammad had a deep concern for the impoverished. One of the Five Pillars of Islam is the giving of alms. To me, this is similar to the concept of Judeo-Christian stewardship and the previous argument applies.

In Buddhism, Native American and Jinn religions, Cage illustrated the belief in the sacredness of all living things.

Cage gave the example of Jinn monks sweeping bugs out of their path while walking to avoid stepping on them. This beautiful example is a philosophy many environmental organizations such as Green peace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) hold dear to their hearts.

Lastly, when talking about Hinduism, Cage brought up the Brahman — the unchanging, infinite and transcendent reality that is the divine ground of everything in this universe. Put simply, we are all really just part of the Brahman. There is no tree and no me. There is only Brahman. I find it a poetic picture of unity between the smallest atoms and the largest solar system.

The world religions give their followers an image of a world united under either a single God or a common belief. They seek a common tie to link humanity and, as a result, teach that we have a responsibility to each other.

I think these beliefs are not in conflict with the desire for a beautiful, clean Earth with enough energy for everyone. This gives me great hope that the social change Simon said we need is possible, regardless of a rich diversity of beliefs and people.

Susannah Lee is the president of SEF. Contact her at sef.unr@gmail.com or visit the Web site at sef.unr.tripod.com/index.html.

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