Attitudes to Nature (Themes in Religious Studies Series)

This work provides an evaluation of the cosmos and the planet by each of the various religions. It looks at the status of the natural order in its own right, as well as the status and responsibilities of humans in that order.The following questions are tackled: Is the relationship one of dominion, stewardship, union or duality? What is the status of animals? How far do the moral considerations that affect humans extend to animals - if at all? Do the different religions offer any distinctive understanding of the status of animals? What, if anything, is there in religious anthropologies which distinguishes humans from (or unifies them with) animals? What is the ultimate condition of nature in the religious (often eschatological) vision?