Roles, Rights and Responsibilities: Stewardship of the Earth

Who looks after the earth?

Unit 3 is a written exam of 1 hour 15 minutes, worth 60 marks and 30 per cent of the qualification. Most of its marks are for applying what you know and evaluating views, not for recall. You answer from three perspectives: Christianity or Catholic Christianity, the world religion you study, and non-religious perspectives, which are always assessed alongside Christian ones. This module covers the first theme, stewardship of the earth: how humans should treat the natural world, and whether, and how, they may use animals for food and research. Islam is the world religion used here. The question running through every step is the same: the three perspectives often reach similar practical answers, so what matters is the reason each one gives.

Five stewardship words to use precisely

These words carry the arguments in this theme. Use them exactly, and say whose word each one is.

Match each teaching to a believer using it

One passage, two readings

Genesis 1:26-28 says God made humans in his image and gave them dominion over the earth and its creatures. Christians agree on the words and differ on what they ask of us.

Answer a developer

A developer who is a Christian says: "God gave humans dominion, so we may clear this ancient woodland for new homes." How would a Christian who stresses stewardship most likely reply?

• Dominion is a trust from God, so land should be used wisely and sustainably and creation protected
• The woodland matters only if it is useful to people
• Humans have no right to use the natural world at all
• The Bible says nothing about how to treat the natural world

A Muslim perspective: trustees of the earth

In Islam the world was created by Allah and belongs to him (Quran 7:54), so humans are not its owners. They are khalifahs, trustees placed on the earth (Quran 35:39 and 6:165), responsible for keeping the balance, or mizan, that Allah set in creation (Quran 55:7-9). Tawhid, the oneness of Allah, is understood to extend to the oneness of creation, and fitrah, the natural human inclination towards God, leads people to live in harmony with the world. On the Day of Judgement (Akhirah) everyone will answer for how they treated the earth and its animals. The Prophet Muhammad showed kindness to animals and taught that Allah rewards it (Bukhari). Livestock were provided for human use, including food (Quran 40:79-80), but many Muslims avoid factory farming and killing animals for sport, animals should not be overworked, and halal slaughter includes thanking Allah for the life of the animal. The organisations IFEES (environment) and Salam for Animals put these beliefs into practice.

Find the Muslim practice

A Muslim family runs a small farm. Tap the TWO things they do that reflect Islamic teaching on animals.

• Before each animal is slaughtered, they give thanks to Allah for its life.
• They hire out their pony to a local hunt for an extra fee.
• Their donkey is rested in the afternoon heat instead of carrying loads all day.
• They pack their hens into the smallest cages allowed to save money.
• They believe nobody will ever hold them to account for how they treat animals.

Care without God

Non-religious perspectives start from reason rather than revelation. All living things are interconnected, and humans, unlike other animals, can reason and foresee the results of their actions, which gives them responsibility. Environmental justice adds that the poorest and most vulnerable people suffer most from environmental harm, so protecting the planet is also protecting them; Humanist Climate Action campaigns on these lines. On animals, a 2022 law recognises that animals are sentient, able to feel. Critics of speciesism say favouring humans just for being human is a prejudice, and Deep Ecology holds that living things and ecosystems have value in themselves, not only in their usefulness to us. Many therefore worry about how animals are treated in food production and about the effects of industrial farming, and some promote veganism or vegetarianism. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals campaigns for animal rights from this position.

Build an evaluation paragraph

Put the five parts of an evaluation paragraph on "Animals exist for human use" in a sensible order.

• Some Christians agree, because dominion gives humans authority over animals
• They point to Genesis 9:3, where animals are given to humans as food
• However, Christians who stress stewardship read the same passage as a duty to care
• Non-religious critics of speciesism go further, rejecting the idea that animals exist for anyone
• So the statement is too strong: use may be allowed, but only with care for animals as sentient creatures

Whose view is it?

For each view, choose the perspective it belongs to. Three lives.

Animals in research: same rule, different reasons

On medical research the three perspectives come surprisingly close. Many Christians see it as essential for human health, but insist suffering is kept to a minimum, regulation is strict, and alternatives such as computer modelling are developed. Many Muslims hold that it is permissible when it benefits human life and health, if it is done with the intention of a greater good, causes as little harm as possible, and is replaced by an alternative wherever one exists. Many non-religious thinkers judge it justified where it could lead to significant medical advances, aim to minimise harm and find alternatives, and worry that a ban would hold back medicine. The difference is the reason: a duty of care given by God, accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgement, or reasoning about suffering. Some non-religious people reject testing altogether, saying animals should never be a means to an end, and some point to thalidomide as a case where animal tests failed to protect humans.

Set the conditions for a test

A laboratory plans to test a new heart drug on mice. Select the THREE conditions that Christian and Muslim teaching would BOTH set.

• The research should serve human health
• The mice should suffer as little as possible
• Where a method without animals exists, it should be used or developed
• Any test is acceptable as long as the drug will make a profit
• No animal may ever be used for any human purpose
• Only animals that are not halal may be tested on

Plan an answer on caring for the planet

The exam statement is "Protecting the planet is the most important duty humans have." Make the planning decisions.

• Which perspectives should your answer use?
• How should you use Christian teaching?
• Which non-religious point fits this statement best?
• How should you finish?

Complete the farm debate

At a public meeting about a huge new chicken farm, a Christian speaker quotes Genesis _____ to argue that humans were put on earth to look after it. A Muslim speaker says humans are _____, answerable for the earth, and must not upset the _____ that Allah set in creation. A non-religious speaker says that treating chickens as worthless simply because they are not human is _____.

Build a comparison sentence

Choose the option in each gap to build an accurate comparison.

Weigh use against care

"Humans have the right to use animals for their own benefit." Evaluate this statement, referring to Christian, Muslim and non-religious perspectives. Reach a justified judgement.

• Dominion and stewardship, with a reference from Genesis
• Muslim teaching on livestock and on kindness to animals
• A non-religious idea such as speciesism or animal sentience
• Conditions all three set on research or farming
• The difference in the reasons behind those conditions