Connections Between Religion/Spirituality and Biophilia

Connections Between Religion/Spirituality and Biophilia
Chris Meyers Natural Systems II
Jill Thomas
Kristen Williams

Abstract:
Using E.O. Wilson’s expression biophilia; which is “the human propensity to affiliate with other life forms (2),” we intend to prove that religion/spirituality has a direct effect on an individual’s relationship with nature. This connection with nature is important to us genetically as well as culturally; we must be and are closely tied to nature, considering our dependence on the natural world for survival, for millions of years during our evolution. Along this evolutionary tract, humans acquired a need for religion/spirituality, a need for a belief in a higher being than themselves. With this we can understand that looking for patterns of responses to natural phenomena amongst a diverse pool of respondents all having unknown religion/spiritual backgrounds, then associating these patterns with wider cultural (religion/spirituality) beliefs about the natural world.
Introduction:
We intend to determine the effect that religion/spirituality has on people’s perspectives of and attitudes toward natural phenomena. Our hypothesis is that these cultural (religion/spirituality) influences have a direct effect on an individual’s affinity to connect with other forms of being in the natural world. Wilson suggested, “the evolutionary history of human thought, language, and socialization has been profoundly influenced by our species’ relationships with other animals (2).” By the studies performed by E.O. Wilson, we can already decipher our evolutionary involvement with nature; however, we intend to focus more so on cultural influences.
On deciding our topic for this field study project, we took an in-depth look at E.O. Wilson and Stephen Kellert studies concerning biophilia. While evaluating their work, we noticed that it tended to leave out cultural issues surrounding biophilia. At the time, we did not realize how difficult this theory would be to prove or disprove; however, we decided to proceed with inquiry about this specific topic. Knowing that cultural issues were not usually investigated, we decded to explore this often-neglected aspect of our relationships with nature.
Although the topic at hand is very enticing and we expect to acquire a significant amount of knowledge, the results are difficult to quantify. Wilson declared that the scientific, analytical approach to researching biophilia is impossible. The reason for this is because each person has a remarkably different affiliation with nature and therefore, must be classified on an individual basis. We would like for our results to explain the relationship between nature and religion/spirituality, however, this may be unworkable with the limited resources we have at our disposal.
Relevance/Literature Review:
Is our culture really influenced by the utilitarian, exploitative view of nature endorsed by our capitalistic system, or do we have a biological connection with nature that transcends our culture? Is it more valuable to destroy natural land to build an office or strip mall, or to know down these buildings to plant trees? Are these trees natural? I it possible for us to sympathize with animals that are typically slaughtered for human consumption, or do we relate them to values that we find repulsive and undesirable (for example, pigs are commonly associated with gluttony and filth)? These are important questions to ask when exploring our relationship with the natural world in terms of cultural patterns.
Two important thinkers on the subject of biophilia are E.O Wilson and Stephen Kellert. Wilson’s book Biophilia, published in 1984, discusses the genetically determined affinity that we have with nature in terms of human survival and mental health and fulfillment, as the human mind evolved in the framework of the biosphere. He wrote, “…if humans evolved with the rest of creation, they developed biologically based attraction for nature and life (Wilson 76).” He went on to argue that people have a built-in genetic imprint that causes our inner need to commune with nature. This connection carries a strong power of emotion and relating to the natural world, Wilson stated, and can bring a strong sensation of well-being. We even practice biophilia in choosing where to live; if we’re living in the right place, everything else will probably be easier. Early on, our ancestors chose to settle in savannas, and in modern times, people tend to try to create savanna-like environments. According to Orians, the ancestral environment contained three key features: abundance of plants and animals with a clear view to detect rivals and animals, topographic relief (cliffs, hills, ridges for surveillance vantage points, and overhangs and caves for natural shelter), and lakes and rivers, which provided both food and protection, as many of man’s natural enemies can not cross deep waters; the shores provided perimeters of defense (Wilson 109-10). Says Wilson:
The practical-minded will argue that certain environments are just “nice” and there’s an end to it. So why dilate on the obvious? The answer is that the obvious is usually profoundly significant. Some environments are indeed pleasant, for the same general reason that sugar is sweet, incest and cannibalism repulsive, and team sports exhilarating. Such response has its peculiar meaning rooted in the distant genetic past. To understand why we have one particular set of ingrained preferences, and not another, out of the vast number possible remains a central question in the study of man.
It might still be argued that people are just tracking ideal features of an environment sought out by other creatures as well…Not only symbolization and language, but also most of the basic cognitive specializations are unique. Among them appears to be biophilia, which is richly structured and quite irrational, in conformity with a primate genetic history played out in the warm climate of the Old World (113-4).

Stephen Kellert, who has published extensively on the subject of human values and perceptions regarding animals and nature, derived a typology of ecological values; the categories indicate the human evolutionary dependence on nature as a basis for survival and personal fulfillment. There are “nine hypothesized dimensions of the biophilia tendency (6):”
Naturalistic:
Primary interest and affection for wildlife and the outdoors
Scientific:
Systematic study of function, structure, and relationships in nature
Utilitarian:
Practical and material exploitation of nature
Aesthetic:
Appreciation of the beauty of nature
Symbolic:
Use of nature for metaphorical expression
Humanistic:
Emotional attachment, “love” for nature
Moralistic:
Strong affinity, spiritual reverence, ethical concern for nature
Dominionistic:
Mastery, control, and dominance of nature
Negativistic:
Fear of, aversion to, alienation from nature
We have based our study upon these nine ecological values and how they relate to the biophilic tendency.
Lesia Winiarskyj, another biophilia expert, offers interesting insights into the symbolic aspects of our relationships with nature. She says that animals “are members of a larger, wilder ecosystem, key players in the delicate balance of nature.” She discusses the role they play in the use of symbols by humans to process information—“[c]reating a ‘symbolic universe’ helps us define our place in it, and we inevitably turn to the animal kingdom for a frame of reference, to help us articulate our actions, emotions, and values (9).” Also, the philosopher Michel Atlas, whose ideas of biophilia are that we look at nature as a “complete communion with the natural world and a strong sensation of well-being (1).” He relates biophilia as humans having a genetic predisposition towards connecting with nature. Atlas writes, “biophilia is the basis for a healthy maturation of human development (1);” we carry emotion when thinking about nature and our place in the natural world. With this thought Atlas deduces that value to the natural world is attributed by human tendencies.
Materials and Methods:
The experimental design for this field study is an in-depth yet concise survey. The survey consists of four parts: 1) a brief look at the individual’s background (age, gender, occupation, religious/spiritual background, and geographic locations past and present); 2) a word-association activity (individuals were asked to read each animal—dog, snake, cow, ant, lion, shark—and write a one-word response with which they identified the animal most); 3) a nine-question series pertaining to Kellert’s typology of nine ecological values (utilitarian, naturalistic, scientific, aesthetic, symbolic, humanistic, moralistic, dominionistic, and negativistic); and 4) personal lifestyle choices that we felt were relevant to an individual’s relationship with the natural world (Vegetarian? How much time spent outside?).

We predict that our information will not break down into quantitative, and therefore statistical, data. This is, again, because biophilia cannot be categorized, it must be individually based. When reviewing the surveys, we broke them up into three different religious/spiritual categories: 1) Judaeo-Christian, western religious background (practicing or non-practicing); 2) respondents whose religious/spiritual backgrounds were unidentifiable; and 3) all other religious/spiritual backgrounds (i.e. atheist, agnostic, pagan, eastern religions). After arranging the information in this manner, we took each individual survey and thoroughly analyzed the responses to determine each respondent’s predominant ecological value with respect to his/her relationship with nature.
SURVEY
Age;
Place of birth (circle one): urban rural suburban/small town
Present residence: urban rural suburban/small town
Occupation:
Gender: M F
Spiritual/Religious background:

Please write one word you associate with the following:
Dog: Ant:
Snake: Lion:
Cow: Shark:

Please rate, on a scale of 1-10 (1=strongly disagree; 10=strongly agree), your agreement with the following statements:

1) I enjoy natural landscape art.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2) It is man’s natural duty, as the most advanced of species, to control and subdue the environment to increase comfort and convenience.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

3) I feel most content when I’m in a natural environment.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4) The natural world is greater than the whole of humanity and should therefore be appreciated for its intrinsic value.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5) I enjoy hiking through the woods and often wander off the beaten path to explore.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6) The thought of being alone in a forest frightens me.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7) I am interested in the natural sciences.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8) I feel artistically inspired when in a natural environments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

9) The resources that nature provides are for human use.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Are you a vegetarian? Y N
If so, what was the most important factor in your decision to avoid meat?

Social/political Health Compassion for animals Other

How often do you participate in activities which place you in natural environments?

Very Rarely (0-2x/month)

Rarely (3-5x/month)

Sometimes (6-8x/month)

Often (9-12x/month)

Very often (every day)

When doing this analysis, we made sure to include all aspects of their survey, not allowing any one part of the survey to determine our conclusion, but taking from all four aspects and discovering each person’s prevalent ecological value. Most respondents seemed to fall neatly into one of the nine ecological values; there were some, however, that were a little more difficult. When analyzing these surveys, it was necessary to consider each question thoroughly in order to best discover their ecological attitudes.
Surveys were distributed randomly, to people of varying age, race, gender, and background. Our surveys were completely anonymous, which allowed for participants to answer openly and honestly. When we viewed each survey, it was an unbiased evaluation because we had no prior notion of the actual individual that completed it. There could have been unknown bias due to our separation of the three-religion/spirituality categories, but with our structured analysis of the surveys, we can be sure our own bias played an insignificant role in our evaluation of the topic at hand. It is important to note, when collecting data in this manner, information retrieved can often be misleading or misinformative. Some respondents may not think thoroughly about their answers; some may not take the survey seriously; others may “blow it off” entirely.
The survey was the primary, most relevant material we utilized for the project; however, the ecological values chart was a close second. Each ecological value has the ability to indicate the human evolutionary dependence on nature as a basis for survival and personal fulfillment. So by classifying individuals by their religion and also by their determined ecological values, we can utilize information and allow for classification to happen.
Other methods used for this field study were an in-depth research into the works of Kellert and Wilson. This allowed us to have background knowledge about biophilia, although it was focused more on an evolutionary look at humans and their innate nature to surround themselves with their natural surroundings, the research still gave us a better understanding of the topic. Also, at the time of our presentation we were uncertain exactly which aspect of the study we were going to take, because there are quite a few when dealing with issues of culturally influenced biophilia. After our presentation was over the class was very responsive in their questions about the project, and this allowed for us to reevaluate the project and decide which angle was the best for us. The class also participated in the survey giving us quite in-depth and responsive answers to the question at hand. The class was also our frame of reference, using the articles in the reader as a starting point and building our entire project from that knowledge.
During the first week of classes we were asked to pick a group, if desired, and a project topic. We, fortunately, had no assignment at this point, but we knew it was coming. Second, assignment for this project was to be completed by week four of the semester. This task was to meet with my partner and write down an idea for this project, also including a one-paragraph statement about our initiative response. A trip to the library was the third affair that was completed before the proposals were to be written. Although there should have been plenty of information there on our topic, the books and articles that were needed were already checked out. This created a little problem, because it was vital to our proposal to have sources which to reference from. Fourth, we were to complete a five-page proposal for our topic and turn it in the seventh week of classes. The proposal assignment was a little difficult because we were unsure exactly what we were supposed to be writing; also we had no articles or books to indicate our extensive research efforts, but we did work a sufficient amount on the internet to find citation and quotations. During week nine we sat down after retrieving books by E.O. Wilson, Kellert, and other sociobiologist, and made a survey, making sure that it had all information needed apparent. Next, we worked diligently for several weeks (week ten through week fourteen); either working on completing surveys or finding background information about our project. On week fourteen we met and put together our presentation to give to the class, this step was not really difficult, because most of the work was done for the presentation of the material. Lastly, during week fifteen and sixteen, we worked attentively to finish the final field study paper and to come to a conclusion about the relationship between religion/spirituality and biophilia.
Results:
When analyzing the data, collected from the survey, we notice there is not a specific pattern for the information. Such as, religion/spirituality does not appear at a first glance to have anything to do with ecological values. However, it is interesting to note, in the Judeao-Christian section there is a strong affiliation with aesthetic and symbolic values. Aesthetic can almost be seen as invalid, because in each of the three categories of religion/spirituality, there were strong inclinations for an aesthetic value. However, with the symbolic value being great as well, we can associate that finding with the religion/spirituality. This is because in these specific religions you are taught to relate objects in nature with a metaphor that would have specific meaning to a certain individual. Symbolic ecological value is the “use of nature for metaphorical expression (),” this is prevalent in almost any organized religion. For example, many of our Christian respondents associated “snake” with “evil,” “satan,” “Garden of Eden,” and other terms relating to the historical significance of the serpent as depicted in the book of Genesis. The findings for the other religion/spirituality seemed to have no direct correlation with the ecological values. This may be because, as Wilson stated, the nature of this field of inquiry does not lend itself to quantitative analysis.
When analyzing the results to the vegetarian question which are depicted in the fourth graph, it is interesting to note that the two values ranking the highest were aesthetic and moralistic. These two values directly correlate with one’s compassion for animals. If one has aesthetic value, they have an “appreciation of the beauty of nature (6),” and a moralistic value would mean someone has a “strong affinity, spiritual reverence, ethical concern for nature (6).” With these values intertwined we can see why a vegetarian with aesthetic or moralistic values would avoid meat because of compassion for animals. Also, it is interesting to briefly note that some vegetarians having social/political reasons for their vegetarianism are also classified as having utilitarian or negativistic ecological values. We can ask the question, why would someone having a utilitarian or negativistic value of nature be a vegetarian? Perhaps they view the practices of the meatpacking industry as having a deleterious effect on the human beings that work in this industry, or maybe they avoid meat for health reasons.
In our first graph, which displays information about Judeao-Christian religion/spirituality and ecological values, we see a strong connection with the two values aesthetic and symbolic. However, when looking at the data more carefully, we can see that the values obtained by this culture are mixed. Even though there are two values having more overall association with the religion/spirituality, the rest of the results are skewed. These specific attitudes towards nature show an unsatisfactory representation of any correlation between Judeao-Christian religion and ecological values. The Judeao-Christian group was the largest in our sample, which gave us a solid grounding on which to base our hypothesis.
In our second graph, which views nonidentifiable (those respondents which provided no answer for religious/spiritual background) religious/spiritual background, and also in our third graph representing other religious/spiritual backgrounds, we found inconclusive data to support our hypothesis. In each category, there were certain predominant ecological values (see graph), however, in an overall analysis, there was no direct link to religion/spirituality and ecological values.

Graph #1

Graph #2

Graph #3

Graph #4

Discussion and Conclusions:
The concluding results were done in a somewhat subjective manner. We attempted to perform this analysis with as little bias as possible. Depending on the individual or team conducting this study, the materials they use, and level of subjectivity/bias, there will always be different data and different results. Once again, making the statement that biophilia is a different experience for everyone and must be evaluated on an individual basis.
Since our survey was an in-depth look into an individual’s relationship with nature, it would have been interesting to look at different parts of the study. We could have analyzed gender association with biophilia, or considered a person’s place of residence past and future in comparison to biophilia, or a glance at the affiliation between occupation and someone’s innate bonding with nature. Also, it would have been interesting to interview people and find out on a personal level what they exam their biophilia to be, compared to an outside perspective of their association with nature. One of the most phenomenal matters that we discovered is someone whom can identify himself or herself as both utilitarian and also be a vegetarian. From our studies we find this data to be contradictory and most often never the case.
The suggestions that we would give someone trying to conduct a study on classification of biophilia, is that it is impossible. We assumed that with enough knowledge, research, and sample size, we would be able to see some correlation. This was not the case however, there were some links and a few patterns, but as an overall field study the data was inconclusive and cannot be obtained in this manner.

Bibliography
(work cited and work consulted)

(1) Atlas, Michel—http://www.michelatlas.com/biophilia.html
(2) http://arts.envirolink.org/interviews_and_conversations/EOWilson.html
(3) http://www.case.monarch.edu.au/~jonmc/resources/notes/biophilia.html
(4) http://www.feel.org/articles/biophilia
(5) http://www.horticulture.tamu.edu/earthknd/merton/chart.html
(6) Kellert, Stephen /values—http://www.quinon.com/words/turnsofphrase/tp-bio2.htm
(7) http://www.spca.bc.ca/biophilia.htm
(8) Wilson, E.O. Biophilia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984.
(9) Winiarskyj, Lesia—http://www.saveourstrays.com/biophilia.htm

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