Science & Religion via spiritual ecology

I have recently couple of posts about some positive environmental movements in the Muslim world (see here, here and here). This narrative of environmental protection resonates well within the Islamic contact and Green Islam can not only really take-off, but with a billion Muslims worldwide, it can have a significant impact on the planet. On the thoughtful 13.7: Cosmos & Culture blog, Marcelo Gleiser suggests that spiritual ecology may be one way of moving beyond the tried old debates regarding science & religion. He considers preservation of life as a moral universal, and from their to the preservation of the planet:

Life here is not restricted to humans. Once we realize how deeply our existence depends on the planet that we inhabit, we understand that we must act to preserve all life forms. The moral universal of life necessarily leads to a spiritual ecology whereby we, as the dominant species in this world, act as guardians of life. So, the spiritual dimension that is so important to us humans finds expression in our devotion to our planet and its life forms.

This sense of spiritual connection with Nature is celebrated both in science and religion. From Einstein to Saint Teresa of Ávila, there is universal agreement that the world is sacred in a very fundamental way. Perhaps the success of the movie Avatar is an expression of the growing need to find common ground for humanity based on the preservation of the planet and, of course, ourselves.

People may have other ideas in mind for what a possible moral universal is. But whatever they are, it’s hard to see any more basic than the respect for life and the planet that so spectacularly harbors it.

Okay - but I hope he doesn't put too much stock in the hokey/noble-savage environmentalism depicted in Avatar (I think a world where people sit next to a tree singing that awful song may not be worth saving after all :) ). Nevertheless, this is a case where Islam and science can have a mutually beneficial interaction.

Read the full post by Marcelo Gleiser here.

See related posts:
Eco-Islam and a "Green Imam" in Tanzania
Green Muslims
Masdar - Abu Dhabi: The Silicon Valley of Renewable Energy?