Cosmic religion

Yesterday was Earth Day 2006. I didn't even realize it was Earth Day until I saw Google's logo (archived here). That lead me to look at the Earth Day Network web site and I found an interesting document regarding the inter-relationship between religion and the environment (archived here). That made me think about some of the early religions I studied in my religion course. Specifically, cosmic religion came to mind. In the lecture, the professor wrote:

It finds and expresses sacred meaning in aspects of nature and human life - seasons, sacred rocks or trees, the social order, birth and death - without linking them to historical personalities or written documents as do founder-religions. This was a religion that was closely observant of the natural world and this formed a strong belief in "animism". Animism, or belief that everything in nature - stones, trees, mountains, lakes, as well as human beings - has a soul or spirit. Indeed, the belief that nature is alive with spirits that have feelings and can be communicated with is one of the most common to human religious experience ... This world - here and now - is fundamentally sacred, and everything is alive with spirit ... Indigenous spirituality is a lifeway, a particular approach to all of life. It is not a separate experience, like meditating in the morning or going to church on Sunday. Rather, spirituality pervades all moments, from reverence in gathering clay to make a pot, to respect within tribal council meetings.

I especially like a practice of the archaic hunters in which they prayed for the souls of the animals they were about to kill for food.

It is necessary to prepare spiritually for a great hunt. There were ceremonies in which the hunters prayed to the spirits of the animals asking their permission to kill them and letting these animals know that they were needed for the hunters to survive. To take the animal requires in some sense the consent of the animal or that of its Divine masters, due propitiation for the wrong done to it, and proper magic to make anything happen at all.

This type of respect for animals and other living things largely does not exist in society now. I’m not advocating that we undo the advances of agriculture and food production but a little respect for the planet would go a long way. I know my eating choices would probably change a lot if I prayed at each meal for the spirits of the animals (and plants) that I was consuming.