Religion for a Sustainable Civilization

Andregg, Michael M.
2012-08-22
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Religion for a Sustainable Civilization

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2012-08-22

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Nova

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RELIGION FOR A SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION Dr. Michael Andregg University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA mmandregg@stthomas.edu ABSTRACT This paper looks at a paradox of large religions in the modern world, some driving us toward endless war even though all the founding prophets spoke about peace, and cited Golden Rules of very similar meaning. It identifies “authoritarian law and militant religion” as interacting evils wrapped in soft words of scriptural origin. It applauds the emergence of “sustainable stewardship” as a counterpoint to more primitive “multiply and dominate” theologies. It shows how “people of faith” and “people of reason” coexist in many churches, but differ in how they evaluate the world. The author discusses why we need a civilizational religion that could manage the planet and the people on it more humanely, instead of subjugating and exploiting them for anyone’s short term benefit. And he ends with a concrete list of characteristics that global religion should have. Key words: Civilization, religion, sustainability, spirituality, decay, war, authoritarianism, ethics, history, philosophy, sociology

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This chapter was written for one of a series of books edited by Andrew Targowski, Marek Celinsky, or both on great issues facing world civilization today. One focus is the spectrum found in all major religions, one pole of which leads to ecumenical peace, the other to fundamentalist wars. There are several other foci, like the issue of sustainability of any of our current 'civilizations.'

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Andregg, Michael M.. (2012). Religion for a Sustainable Civilization. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/212112.

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