Religion and Ecology
I will be researching the influence religion has on promoting environmental ethics and action. Specifically, I will be looking at specific monasteries in Mongolia to see what they are doing in terms of conservation and what motivates them personally to do it. My interests have always been in the fields of ecology and religious studies, which is why I chose to major in them at Pitt. Now, I am interested to see how those two disciplines interact and if religion can be part of the solution to current environmental problems, as articles that I have read say it can.
The majority of literature that focuses on “deep ecology” (the term generally given to the religious studies and ecology interdisciplinary studies) research is currently done in Thailand or India. Furthermore, current research is very focused on the religious and philosophical aspects of the topic. I believe my study can help shift the current scholarship not only to look at Mongolia as another example of where the deep ecology movement is occurring, but also to look at its specific implications on local species and environments to see just how effective it is.
I intend to research to find and visit several monasteries that are actively helping the environment. I would like to find out precisely what they are doing and interview to find out what is motivating them to do it. Furthermore, I would like to find local ecologists and ask them on their views of what the monasteries are doing and what implications it may have for the surrounding ecosystem. I ultimately hope to find some variety of religious affiliations and environments to survey, although I recognize that it may not be possible to find such a variety. My final product will be a series of case studies that comprehensively explains what each monastery is doing, what their motivations are to take action (whether religious or not), the current situation of the environment the monastery is in, and what implications the local deep ecology movement has on the environment. Hopefully, such a set of case studies can open the door for cross-cultural comparisons between Mongolia and similar phenomena in other countries.
I honestly do not know what I expect to find. The research I have done thus far shows a trend of Buddhism, in particular, being very environmentally aware. I also know that there are several endangered species and other environmental issues that are unique to Mongolia. I hope to discover that monasteries in Mongolia are acting in a manner to assist in solving these problems, although it is hard to predict exactly how and why they are doing so.
