We can’t stress enough about historical Christianity and the environment without addressing the deeply ingrained idea that “this world is not my home.” This post will look at it from that angle.
The modern environmental crisis, particularly climate change, is often discussed in terms of industrialisation, fossil fuels, and politics. However, to understand the deep-seated cultural attitudes that have permitted the systematic exploitation of nature, we must look further back. Christianity, in particular, has historically framed humanity’s place in the world.
The Command to Dominate: The Genesis Mandate
A central argument connecting Christianity’s view of nature lies in the interpretation of the Book of Genesis.
The specific verses often cited are known as the “dominion” and “subdue” mandates:
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)
For centuries, this was widely interpreted, especially in the rise of Western scientific and industrial thought, not as a call for responsible care, but as a divine license to get away with destruction over the non-human world.
Other traditions often viewed nature—trees, rivers, forests—as divine beings. As Christianity became the dominant force in Europe, it actively sought to desacralize these natural places to eliminate competing religious beliefs.
This process removed the ethical and spiritual restraints that previously protected specific natural features, effectively making the entire natural world available for human domination.
Science and Industry
The Christian view has been interpreted as a separation of humanity from nature. Inadvertently laying the philosophical groundwork for the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. These are the two most significant drivers of our current climate crisis.
The modern world, as a result, rationalises exploitation. According to some Christian understanding, humanity was explicitly commanded to dominate the earth. Hence, the rigorous manipulation of nature became not just acceptable, but theologically sanctioned progress.
Rediscovering the Meaning
Historical Christianity certainly provided the cultural and intellectual justification for environmental exploitation. It is, however, crucial to recognise that this is only one interpretation. Today, many Christians are actively re-examining their texts and history. This has led to a wave of creation care and environmental justice through religion. A Rocha is an example of a Christian-led ecological protection organisation.
Modern theologians emphasise that dominion should be understood as the responsible role of a steward or a gardener (caring for the Garden of Eden), not a tyrant or a destroyer.
The climate crisis is not only a challenge of technology but also one of culture and ethics. Acknowledging how past religious misinterpretations contributed to the problem is a good start. Then we can better understand the deep, subconscious mindset we need to shift to create a sustainable future.
When people are taught that this entire physical, earthly realm is just a temporary testing ground—a brief, flawed stopover on the way to a perfect, eternal heaven—it drastically undermines the motivation to protect it. Why worry about long-term ecology or resource depletion if the only world that truly matters is the one after death? This focus on a celestial transcendence essentially permitted us to treat the Earth as disposable scaffolding, reinforcing the license to extract and exploit resources without feeling any deep, spiritual obligation to its long-term health.