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The book begins with a highly articulate and rapid-fire introduction by Daniel Maguire. Here he grounds us with a definition of religion as a response to the sacred, and reminds us that, “no one finds nothing sacred.” By stating this we are forced to think outside the box of our normal definition of sacred meaning only that which is defined by as such by traditional religious systems: The way we sanctify our new cars and deify movie stars is an example that I thought of finding that which has not conventionally been thought of as sacred as such. Maguire also pushes us to focus on religions only in so much as they offer positive solutions for the world. This is important because, as he reminds us, “...on a given day as we now mismanage the earth, we add fifteen million tons of carbon to the atmosphere, eliminate 115 square miles of tropical rainforest, create seventy-two miles of desert, eliminate forty to one hundred species, erode 71 million tons of topsoil, add twenty-seven tons of CFA’s to the stratosphere, and increase the world population by 263,000, with our food needs increasing and our feeding practices in decline.” Furthermore, “Human breast milk contains more toxins than are permissible in milk sold in dairies. At death human bodies often contain enough toxins and heavy metals to be classified as hazardous waste.” After this type of introduction, there can be no doubt left in the reader’s mind that we are ALREADY deeply enmeshed in ecological crisis, and that we must find solutions NOW. David Loy, a Buddhist Economist, then comes charging into the book with guns blazing. He launches a riveting attack on consumerism, proving with statistics and prose that today the dominant religion in the West, and thus what is being forcefully exported through globalization, is consumerism. We worship material goods as if they are sacred, and we believe, either consciously or subconsciously material things will give us salvation. Our world view is such that we see the earth as a collection of dead objects to be consumed, AND, that the more we have and consume of objects, the more likely our chances of being “saved” with eternal happiness. Loy reminds us how delusional this way of thinking is in that it leads to gross environmental degradation and over-consumption. Furthermore, consumable goods never give us true happiness because they always have to be replaced with newer and flashier models. The advertisements are clearly the scriptures of this “free nation.” ..”.in 1994 the U.S. spent $147 billion for advertising- far more than on all higher education. This translated into a barrage of 21,000 televison commercials, a million magazine advertising pages, 14 billion mail order catalogues, 38 billion junk-mail ads, and another billion signs, posters, and bill boards.” As televison and the media giants hawk their wares with increasing intensity all over the world, this new religion of consumerism spreads like a cancer. In the third chapter, David Korten provides the reader with very important historical background to the phenomena of globalization. Specifically, he educates us about a meeting of world leaders held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944. It was at Brenton Woods where leaders promulgated policies that were based on some very flawed assumptions: “The first is that economic growth and enhanced world trade would benefit everyone. The second is that economic growth would not be constrained by the limits of the planet.” He then goes on to show that while global trade has increased tremendously since Brenton Woods, worldwide poverty and the gap between rich and poor has also increased tremendously. His use of statistics here makes his claims clear and irrefutable, and for me, intensely disturbing. He continues to present evidence of overpopulation, ecological degradation, and global inequality in which “20 percent of people live in the world’s richest countries receive 82.7 percent of the world’s income and consume a comparable share of resources.” Harold Coward presents an interesting ethical analysis in the fourth chapter in which he shows that the Western individualistic world view is in dire need of a paradigm shift: Our continual focus on “I-self” instead of what Coward sees as the Asian paradigm of “we-self,” means that we’ll never be motivated to do what it takes to work together and solve the problems of the world. While he over-essentializes Asian religions to make his point, the point is well taken: The sense of obligations people other than oneself found in, for example Confucianism, and the teaching of the interconnection and interdependence of all life promoted in Buddhism. do indeed lend themselves more seamlessly to a collective effort at ecological rehabilitation than does Western individualism. In the rest of the book we read individual experts offering their analysis of specific religious world views regarding environmental degradation, overpopulation, and consumerism. Furthermore, they offer insight into how these religions have already worked to help solve these problems, and how, given their teachings, they could be used to better serve the earth and its people. The chapters which follow focus on Roman Catholicism (liberation theology specifically), Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Chinese religions, and African religions. Some chapters are stronger than others are, but all of them offer the reader greater insight into the historical and theological dimensions of the faiths. By organizing their discussions around three specific and interrelated issues, the reader actually finishes the book with quite a sophisticated understanding of important aspects of these religious traditions. This book will be outstanding for teachers of classes on history, religious studies, economics, environmental studies, politics, and geography. While in its entirety, the book would probably work only for advanced juniors and seniors, certain chapters would be highly fitting for all ages of high school students. Specifically the chapters on Judaism, Buddhism, Chinese religions, and African religions, would be excellent additions to courses, which cover these faiths and/or regions of the world. It is of dire importance that students today understand the world into which they will enter as adults. Furthermore, it is necessary for them to know how people throughout the world are trying to help the modern world, especially when they are doing so through ancient traditions; Visions of a New Earth offers us all such understanding. |
