Engaging Religions To Shape Worldviews - Article Example

Engaging Religions to Shape Worldviews Religion remains an integral part and a critical aspect in the lives of many today; despite the fact, no all people are religious by nature. Contrary to common opinions that religion is important only for the religious, current trends have ideally changed such a perception as it currently plays a substantive role in the shaping of worldviews. Many have believed that religion only entail matters of personal, private belief and as such, never plays any significant role in either public life or in the contemporary world.

Religion has a critical role it plays in creating sustainable cultures. Based on such an approach, it is evident that climate change remains a global challenge today. Different religious groups are currently in plans of addressing such challenges, through the formation of partnerships with concerned organizations such as United Nations, where religious groups work towards greening of activities aimed towards reducing aspects such as climate change, deforestation, and water scarcity (Gardener 23).

Previous studies have revealed an increased potential in faith communities becoming potentially influential as gateways to discussions pertaining to environmental protection (Gardener 24). Such a perspective is in addition to the aspect religious gathering becoming education forums for network building, cooperation towards initiating peace and engagements in the communities. The major drivers of environmental impact such as technology and populations have ideally increased elements of consumerism.

Even though religion has not taken a strong stand on matters pertaining to consumerism, which contribute significantly to environmental degradation, religion has advocated simple living and such elements that have little impact on the environmental degradation (Gardener 26). Based on the aspects addressed above, it is clear that indeed religion has played a significant role in shaping worldviews, contrary to common opinion that religion only involves matters of personal, private belief and does not play a significant role in public life or the contemporary world.

Work CitedGardener Gary. State of the World. Engaging Religions to Shaping Worldviews, Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability. The world Watch Institute, 2010.