Was L. White Jr. right? An exploration of environmental values and activism in Eastern spiritual traditions

Abstract

In 1967, historian Lynn White Jr. published a seminal paper proposing that our current ecological crisis is the result of the anthropocentric, dualist nature of Western Christian religious traditions. He further went on to suggest that the interconnected, animist view of nature present in many Eastern religions provides a more ecologically sound framework for a religiously informed relationship with nature. White’s paper has inspired further scholarship exploring the veracity of his claims. This paper will explore how nature is valued in Christianity and three key Eastern religious traditions (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism) and how these values translate to religiously influenced ecological activism. Finally, it will provide an overview of some of the research comparing ecological values across different religious groups to examine the empirical support (if any) for White’s claims.