Dominion and Stewardship (AQA A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

Dominion and stewardship

Introduction

Christians hold differing views on their relationship with the natural world and animals. The concept of dominion (power over creation) can be interpreted in two main ways: as virtually unrestricted power over the environment, or as responsible stewardship where humans act as caretakers of God's creation. Understanding these interpretations requires examining biblical texts and their influence on Christian thought and practice.

The belief that Christians have dominion over animals

Dominion as virtually unrestricted power

The term dominion means 'power over'. Several biblical passages support the view that Christians have significant authority over the natural world.

Humans made 'little less than God'

This elevated view of humanity's status naturally leads to the conclusion that humans have authority over the rest of creation.

Created Imago Dei

The concept of Imago Dei (in the image of God) reinforces human power over creation. Genesis 1:26-28 describes God creating humans 'in our image, after our likeness' and commanding them to 'have dominion' over fish, birds, cattle, earth, and every creeping thing.

Both interpretations support the view that humans hold a special, elevated position in creation.

Earth to be subdued

Genesis 1:28 commands humans to 'subdue' the earth. The Hebrew verb cbsh means to 'subjugate' or 'bring into subjection'. This is immediately followed by rdh, meaning 'to rule over' or 'have dominion over'.

After the flood, God tells Noah and his sons that 'the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth' (Genesis 9:1-3). God delivers all creatures into human hands and permits them to be used as food.

Anthropocentric and anthropomorphic tradition

The biblical texts present a strongly anthropocentric worldview. This means centring the universe on humans and regarding humans as the central fact of the universe.

From these passages, we can conclude that whilst humanity's status is 'little less than God', the Bible places no particular intrinsic value on animal life or other living things. These have value only insofar as they serve human desires.

A related concept is anthropomorphic, meaning representing God as having human form, personality or attributes. It also means ascribing human characteristics to non-human entities, including animals. This further reinforces human centrality - animals are valued not for what they are, but for how human they might appear.

Effects on Christian thought and action

Christians who interpret dominion as 'power over' believe humans are entitled to use the environment to satisfy their needs. This interpretation is often supported by reference to the Fall, where Satan corrupted the world and Adam and Eve introduced sin. Some Christians believe that after the Fall, the human role was to control an already damaged environment and keep it in submission.

Thomas Aquinas developed this thinking further. Following Aristotle, Aquinas viewed animals as part of the human food chain. He argued that humans have only indirect duties to animals. Whilst Aquinas objected to cruelty towards animals, this was only because he believed such cruelty bred cruelty in humans themselves. Mistreating animals was essentially property damage.

During the Industrial Revolution in England and Germany, accumulating wealth was seen by Protestants as a sign of God's approval. Unfortunately, much of this wealth came at the cost of enormous environmental damage.

Beliefs about the role of Christians as stewards of animals and the natural environment

Dominion as caring stewardship

Stewardship as the meaning of dominion

An alternative Christian perspective argues that having 'dominion' over the environment actually means humans should act as stewards of the entire environment. Stewards are caretakers of God's creation, fully responsible to God for this duty.

According to this view, the world belongs to God because God created it. As the most intelligent species made in God's image, humans have a responsibility to look after it.

Biblical basis for stewardship

This stewardship interpretation is also rooted in the Bible. Rather than focusing on the Fall, it emphasizes the statements in Genesis 1 that God viewed his creation as 'good'. This occurs repeatedly (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 31).

Several biblical passages demonstrate the value of non-human creation to God. For example, Psalm 96:11-13 describes creation rejoicing at God's rule:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord.

Being made in God's image gives Christians responsibility to look after the world and a duty to reflect God's love for its goodness.

Augustine's Principle of Plenitude

St Augustine adapted a principle from Plato suggesting that all forms of existence possible in the universe will exist somewhere. Augustine used this to argue that a universe with many species is far better than one with only one species. The huge variety of species demonstrates the depth of God's power and the beauty of his creation. Creation is perfect because of this range and diversity, reflecting God's omnipotent creativity.

Destruction of rainforests and pollution of lakes, rivers and seas reaches crisis proportions. Much natural beauty has been spoiled. If the entire environment belongs to God, then stewardship must extend to the entire environment, not just humans and animals.

Biblical support for stewardship

Numerous biblical passages support the stewardship interpretation:

• God as creator of everything
• God as owner of creation
• God's love and compassion for creation (Psalm 33:5; Psalm 145:9)
• God sustains creation
• God redeems creation
• Creation's praise of God
• God's care for animals (Genesis 9:9-10; Hosea 2:18; Luke 12:6; Isaiah 11:6-9)
• God's commands for stewardship (Leviticus 25:2-7; Numbers 35:31-34; Deuteronomy 20:19)
• God's anger at those who defile the land (Hosea 4:1-3; Jeremiah 12:4; Isaiah 5:8-10)

Christians as stewards of animals and the natural environment today

Changing understandings of environmental effects

From the late twentieth century to the present, our understanding of environmental degradation has reached a critical point. This increased awareness has likely brought about the growing popularity of stewardship ideas amongst Christians.

Symptoms of environmental degradation

Global warming: Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) produces toxic gases that contribute to increased planetary temperature. The greenhouse effect, where atmospheric gases prevent the sun's energy from bouncing back off earth's surface, has intensified. This has resulted in massive ice melt at the earth's poles. In some areas, ice sheets have thinned by over 40 per cent since the 1970s. Sea levels are predicted to rise by around 90cm by 2100, with some scenarios suggesting three-quarters of the UK could be submerged. Huge storms are becoming more common, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed over 1,300 people in New Orleans.

Water pollution: Waste products including sewage and factory chemicals are increasingly released into river drainage systems and eventually the sea. Oil pollution kills millions of seabirds and fish annually. Freshwater systems suffer from industrial settlement and dam construction, which submerges natural areas and reduces biodiversity.

Soil pollution: Chemicals released accidentally or deliberately contaminate soil. Major contaminants include herbicides and pesticides used extensively by the farming industry and in domestic gardens. There is significant concern about long-term effects of genetically-modified crops on biodiversity.

Radioactive pollution: Nuclear power stations and weapons research produce radioactive contamination through dust or waste dumping. Some researchers suggested that unexplained bone cancers in young children in southern Ireland in 1986 were caused by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion, which entered the food chain through contaminated grazing land.

Human population pollution: Excess population intensifies most other pollution types. Twenty per cent of the world's population controls eighty per cent of the world's resources, making the effects of pollution disproportionate.

Ethical issues

The reaction of Christian scholars

Christian scholars interested in religion's role have generally emphasized the need for increased environmental stewardship.

Victoria Harrison

Harrison, focusing on Judaism and Islam as well as Christianity, notes:

By the end of the twentieth century, many had come to believe that this situation posed an immediate threat to the continuation of life on the planet. Given the possible magnitude of this threat, it is not surprising that religious thinkers from each of the Abrahamic faiths felt the need to address some of the issues. The result was eco-theology, which consists in an attempt to develop a theology that can respond to the environmental crisis.

Lynn White Jr

White argues that many problems at the root of the environmental crisis have been shaped in the Western world by the Judaeo-Christian tradition, particularly its belief that humans have dominion over the environment. However, not all Christian thinkers accept this. Some argue the crisis developed because of increasingly secular and scientific/mechanized culture, where ethics have not kept pace with technological ability.

Sallie McFague

McFague, a Christian feminist writer, argues the current environmental crisis is largely the product of patriarchal Christianity. In this tradition, God is seen as transcendent and apart from the world, which encourages humanity's subjection of nature. She suggests developing new models of God, particularly where God is immanent and involved within the entire world, so Christians see the world literally as God's body.

Christian organizational responses

Christian organizations have responded widely to promote environmental stewardship. Many Christian organizations and development agencies are currently involved in diverse initiatives for environmental stewardship.

Where does Christianity stand?

There is significant and increasing Christian interest in developing consistent eco-theology. However, many Christians still take the view that dominion over animals means virtually unrestricted power over them. Among Christians who prefer to think animals have intrinsic value as part of God's creation, comparatively few are vegetarian. Their main emphasis tends to be on good treatment of animals before killing them humanely for food production.

Plastic pollution illustrates the severity of environmental problems. It is now so extensive that it has sunk to the deep ocean floor. Some scientists suggest we have brought about a new geological epoch - the 'Anthropocene' - characterized by human impact.

Key terms

Dominion: Power over creation. In debate, refers to human authority over the natural world.

Stewardship: The view that dominion should be understood as responsible human care for the environment, with humans answerable to God for their treatment of it.

Imago Dei: Latin phrase meaning 'in the image of God', referring to the belief that humans are created to resemble God.

Anthropocentric: Centring the universe on humans; regarding humans as the central fact of the universe.

Anthropomorphic: Representing God as having human form, personality or attributes; also means ascribing human characteristics to non-human entities.

Intrinsic value: Something that has value for its own sake, not just for its usefulness to humans.

Eco-theology: The approach to environmental issues focusing on establishing the right relationship between religion and nature, stemming from recognition that current environmental problems are partly due to religious misunderstanding.

Principle of Plenitude: The idea that a universe with many species is better than one with only one, demonstrating the depth of God's power and beauty of creation.