Judaism & Issues in the Natural World (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Jewish responses to threats to the world

Threats to the world

• The world today is being damaged by pollution, global warming and the use of natural resources by humans

• Many animal species are being threatened with extinction and the increase in human population is becoming unsustainable

• There are multiple threats to the natural world, including the use of fossil fuels, destruction of habitats, and pollution 

Use of fossil fuels

• Some natural resources are non-renewable, including vegetation, minerals, and fossil fuels

  • Humans are overusing non-renewable resources

    • the resources are finite so will eventually run out

• Some natural resources have taken millions of years to form beneath the earth’s surface

• These are fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, which are used as energy sources

• The burning of fossil fuels is one of the main causes of Global Warming

  • Since around 1950 there has been a dramatic increase in global temperatures

  • This is due to an increase in greenhouse gases trapping more heat in the earth’s atmosphere

  • The burning of fossil fuels produces the gases that enable this to happen

• The increase in global temperatures causes extreme weather patterns

  • The consequences include floods, droughts, damage to animals’ habitats, ice caps melting, more deserts and a reduction in rainforest

  • Scientists believe that human activities over the last 100 years have increased the rate of temperature change

  • The change alters ecosystems so plants and animals have to adapt or die out

• Many religious and non-religious people will work to repair and reduce the harm to the environment

• Some ways of achieving this include using alternative sources of transport like electric cars, renewable energy sources, and using fewer fossil fuels are 

Destruction of habitats

• A habitat is somewhere where living organisms exist

• Destruction of habitats may occur either due to pollution damage, or to clear space for development

  • Pollution is often caused by humans through oil spills or nuclear fallout

  • The destruction of forest habitats known as deforestation often occurs to provide grazing for cattle

  • The destruction of trees harms the environment as there are fewer trees to remove carbon from the atmosphere

  • Many species only live in rainforest areas and are becoming endangered

    • For example, the habitat of orangutans is being cleared to grow palm oil

• Many religious and non-religious people change their lifestyles to maintain and preserve the habitats of living creatures

• They might reduce the need for grazing space by reducing meat consumption or using wood from sustainable forests or alternative ingredients in food

Pollution

• Pollution is an excess of toxic substances in the air, land, or water and can destroy the environment

  • Fumes from cars and factories cause air pollution

  • Dumping waste into the sea and the use of pesticides causes water pollution

  • Getting rid of human rubbish causes land pollution

• Factories and transport cause the most air pollution

  • Increased CO₂ and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap more heat leading to global warming

  • Polluted air can lead to health conditions like asthma, lung cancer, and other diseases

  • Chemicals mix with water droplets in the atmosphere and then fall in the form of acid rain, damaging the land, water, crops, and buildings

• Factories and farming can also be a cause of water pollution

  • Factories empty their waste into rivers

  • Chemicals used in farming drain from the land into the water sources, killing fish and devastating marine life

• Farming can also be a cause of land pollution

  • Some farmers use harmful pesticides on crops which can contaminate soil, turf, and other vegetation

  • In addition to killing insects or weeds, pesticides and herbicides can be toxic to many other organisms including birds, fish, non-harmful insects, and plants

• Many religious and non-religious people try to limit the amount of pollution that exists within the environment

  • They may reduce the amount of transport which adds to air pollution

  • They might work to develop or use cleaner energy which helps the environment

  • Farmers might insist on using natural methods of pest control

  • People might recycle more or avoid unnecessary littering

Stewardship & humanity's role as stewards

• Stewardship is the belief that God appointed humans to be his stewards or caretakers of his creation

  • Stewardship is a belief that impacts the behaviour of many religious people including Christians and Jews

• Jews would say that they must value the world because it was created by God, and it is his:

• The origins of stewardship are in the Torah

  • After God had created the world in the account in Genesis 2, Adam was given the task of looking after the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15)

  • This responsibility was passed on to other humans, which is the principle of stewardship

• When God created the world in the Genesis account, he described every element of his creation as 'good'

  • For humans, the world is more than just 'good': it is complex and fascinating. For religious believers, it is evidence of God’s creative power and inspires a sense of awe and wonder

  • Therefore believers should care for the world so that it remains in the state in which God created it. Humans have no right to abuse God's gift

• As stewards of the earth, Jews believe that they should try to make the world better. This idea is known as tikkun olam, which literally means 'mending the world'

  • Tikkun olam means caring for the environment, but it has a wider meaning of caring for everything and everyone in the world, including people

• The Jewish Declaration on Nature (1986) explained the nature of humanity's role as stewards of creation:

• Jews recognise that everything in nature is interdependent. Trees are seen as being of particular importance

  • Since 1948 when the state of Israel was created, millions of trees have been planted to rebuild the nation and try to reclaim the desert

Divergent Jewish responses to animal rights

Animal rights

• Humans use animals for many different purposes

• There are different opinions about the use of animals

  • Animals are sometimes used for medical experiments to test products before human use. The process is called vivisection

  • Sometimes the safety of cosmetics, food or colour additives is tested on animals

  • Animals are commonly used for food 

    • Often this is factory farming which involves intense agriculture with limited freedom for the animals

• Religious and non-religious people have different opinions regarding the rights of animals

• Some people believe that animals should have equal rights with human beings

• Others believe that the mistreatment of animals is wrong but humans have control over animals and they should be used to benefit humans in some circumstances

Jewish responses to animal rights

• Jews follow the Noahide Laws, one of which is to respect animal rights. This means that cruelty to animals should never be allowed. Specifically, it prohibits eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive

• There are strict food laws in Judaism:

  • Only certain types of animals should be eaten

  • Any animal killed for food must be slaughtered in a humane manner

  • Jews must make sure that they only eat kosher foods

• The Jewish food laws are intended to follow the rules laid out in the Torah about what is considered acceptable to God

• Jews also follow the Torah teaching that people should treat animals in a sustainable way

  • For example, Deuteronomy contains an instruction that while a person can take a young bird from a nest, they should not take the mother as well:

• Animal experimentation may be tolerated if the result is a benefit to humankind

• Jews would apply the principle of Pikuach nefesh to this situation. This is the idea that saving a human life is more important than following religious rules

  • In the case of animal testing which could result in saving human lives, the principle of Pikuach nefesh could be used to support the practice

  • However, this should only be a last resort

  • Animal testing for cosmetic reasons could never be supported using this principle