Religion and Sustainable Development: A Comparative Study of Buddhist and Christian Farmers’ Contribution to the Environmental Protection in Taiwan

Authors: Jijimon Alakkalam Joseph

Abstract:

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development claims to be a comprehensive and integrated plan of action for prosperity for people and the planet, including almost all dimensions of human existence. Nevertheless, the religious dimension of human existence has been kept away from development discussions. Care for the earth is one of the vital aspects of sustainable development. Farmers all over the world contribute much to environmental protection. Most farmers are religious believers and religious ideologies influence their agricultural practices. This nexus between faith and agriculture has forced policymakers to include religion in development discussions. This paper delves deeper into this religion and sustainable development connection. Buddhism and Christianity have contributed much to environmental protection in Taiwan. However, interviews conducted among 40 Taiwanese farmers (10 male and female farmers from Buddhism and Christianity) show that their faith experiences make them relate to the natural environment differently. Most of the Buddhist farmers interviewed admitted that they chose their religious adherence, while most of the Christian farmers inherited their faith. The in-depth analysis of the interview data collected underlines the close relationship between religion and sustainable development. More importantly, concerning their intention to care for the earth, farmers whose religious adherence is ‘chosen’ are self-motivated and more robust compared to those whose religious adherence is ‘inherited’.

Keywords: Buddhism, Christianity, environmental protection, sustainable development.

References:

[1] UN World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, 1987. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf
[2] UN, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
[3] K. Glaab and D. Fuchs, “Green Faith? The Role of Faith-Based Actors in Global Sustainable Development Discourse,” Environmental Values 27, 2018, pp. 289-312.
[4] M. Riesebrodt, “Religion in the Modern World: Between Secularization and Resurgence,” Max Weber Lecture No. 2014/01, 2014, pp. 1–8 https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/29698/MWP_LS_2014_01_Riesebrodt.pdf
[5] D. Derezotes, “Religious Resurgence, Human Survival, and Global Religious Social Work,” Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought 28, 2009, pp. 63–81.
[6] P. Repstad, ed., Political Religion, Everyday Religion: Sociological Trends. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2019.
[7] R.W. Hefner, “Religious Resurgence in Contemporary Asia: Southeast Asian Perspectives on Capitalism, the State, and the New Piety,” The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 69, No. 4 (November), 2010, pp. 1031-1047.
[8] W.H. Swatos Jr. and K.J. Christiano, “Secularization Theory: The Course of a Concept,” Sociology of Religion, Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn), 1999, pp. 209–228.
[9] Pew Research Center, “The Global Religious Landscape,” 2012 https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/
[10] Pew Research Center, “The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050,” 2015. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/
[11] P. Arias-Arévalo, B. Martín-López and E. Gómez-Baggethun, “Exploring Intrinsic, Instrumental, and Relational Values for Sustainable Management of Social-Ecological Systems,” Ecology and Society 22 (4): 43, 2017. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09812-220443.
[12] L. White Jr., “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Science 155, no. 3767, 1967, pp. 1203-1207.
[13] M.A. Sayem, “Environmental Crisis as a Religious Issue: Assessing Some Relevant Works in the Field,” Asia Journal of Theology, vol. 33.1 (April), 2019, pp. 127–147.
[14] Francis, Laudato Si’: Encyclical Letter on Care for Our Common Home, 2015. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.pdf
[15] FAO, World Food and Agriculture: Statistical Yearbook 2021. Rome, 2021. https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4477en/
[16] M. Alston and P.G. Pardey, “Agriculture and Global Economy,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Winter), 2014, pp. 121–146.
[17] UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007. https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf
[18] C.G. Okpalike and N.J. Obiekwe, “Faith in a Fourth Religion as Intrinsic in the Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria,” American International Journal of Contemporary Research, Vol. 5, No. 1 (February), 2015, pp. 82-90.
[19] C.J. Rademaker and H. Jochemsen, “Faith in International Agricultural Development: Conservation Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Agriculture and Human Values 36, 2019, pp. 199-212.
[20] J. Ogbonnaya, “Religion and Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Nigeria,” International Journal of African Catholicism, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2012, pp. 1–22.
[21] K.A. Hiagbe, “The Church and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2015, pp. 164-179.
[22] L.K. On and J. Pugh-Kitingan, “The Impact of Christianity on Traditional Agricultural Practices and Beliefs among the Kimaragang of Sabah: A Preliminary Study,” Asian Ethnology, Vol. 74, No. 2, 2015. pp. 401-424.
[23] R. Isanezhad, S. Zarifian, H. Raheli, H. Kouhestani and S. B. Nahand, “Investigating the Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Participation in Programs of Agricultural Development in Iran (A case Study of Villages Located in Yakanat Plain of East Azerbaijan Province),” Scholarly Research Exchange, Vol. 4 (2), 2015, pp. 522-527.
[24] S.M. Abdulrachman, “Integrating Spiritual Dimension in Sustainable Development Strategy an Islamic Perspective,” OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 02:11, 2011, pp. 51-64.
[25] T. Zimmerman-Liu, “The Development and Dissemination of Pro-Environmental Dharma among Taiwan’s Humanistic Buddhists,” Religions 14 (2) 273, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020273
[26] W.T. Fang, U. Kaplan, Y.T. Chiang, C.T. Cheng, 2020. “Is Religiosity Related to Environmentally-Protective Behaviors Among Taiwanese Christians? A Structural Equation Modeling Study,” Sustainability 12 (21), 8999, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218999
[27] C. Marshall and G.B. Rossman, Designing Qualitative Research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006.
[28] J. Corbin and A. Strauss, Basics of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2008.
[29] K. Beek, “Spirituality: A Development Taboo,” Development in Practice 10.1 (Feb), 2000, pp. 31–43.
[30] S. Sia, “Ethics and Religion,” New Blackfriars 89. 1024 (November), 2008, pp. 702–709.
[31] B. Taylor, “A Green Future for Religion,” Futures 36, 2004. pp. 991–1008.
[32] J. Lunn, “The Role of Religion, Spirituality and Faith in Development: A Critical Theory Approach,” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 5, 2009. pp. 937–951.
[33] K. Marshall, “Development and Religion: A Different Lens on Development Debates,” Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 76, No. 3/4, 2001, pp. 339–375.
[34] M.E. Tucker, “World Religions, the Earth Charter, and Sustainability,” Worldviews, Vol. 12, No. 2/3, 2008, pp. 115–128.