Jewish and Non-Religious Environmental Responsibilities

Dominion means authority with responsibility

Environmental responsibility concerns how people should use and protect the natural world. Jewish environmental ethics connects this question to belief in God as the creator. Psalm 24 teaches that the earth belongs to God. From this perspective, people are using something entrusted to them, not something they own absolutely.

Dominion means authority over the natural world. Genesis 1:28 gives humanity dominion over other living creatures. This recognises a special human role, but authority need not mean unlimited exploitation. Genesis 2:15 places the human being in the garden to work it and take care of it. Read together, these passages support using the earth while also protecting it.

Stewardship is responsibility for caring for something on behalf of its owner. Jews can therefore understand themselves as guardians of God’s creation. Growing food and using natural resources are compatible with stewardship, but damaging the conditions on which life depends would neglect that responsibility.

Repairing the world and avoiding waste

Tikkun olam means ‘repairing the world’. It is associated with action to improve society, including environmental action. Recycling, reducing a carbon footprint and picking up litter can express this responsibility: belief becomes a reason to change everyday behaviour.

Bal tashchit means ‘do not destroy’. Deuteronomy 20:19–20 restricts the destruction of trees during a siege, particularly protecting fruit trees that provide food. The wider principle opposes needless destruction and waste. It does not mean that people can never use resources; it asks whether their use is necessary and responsible.

For example, throwing away edible food wastes both the food and the resources used to produce it. Planning purchases and using leftovers can therefore connect bal tashchit with tikkun olam: avoiding waste is one way of repairing the world.

Loving-kindness and responsibility before God

Gemilut hasadim means acts of loving-kindness, performed without expecting anything in return. Feeding hungry people and visiting the sick are examples. Unlike charity understood simply as giving money, loving-kindness can involve time and practical assistance, and can benefit rich or poor people.

Its environmental relevance begins with the people affected by environmental harm. Pollution, damaged harvests and threats to homes are also threats to human wellbeing. Helping affected communities and acting to prevent such harm can therefore express loving-kindness. This connects care for the natural world with care for people, rather than treating them as separate duties.

Maimonides, a medieval Jewish scholar, set out thirteen principles of faith. His tenth principle teaches that God knows human actions and thoughts. Applied to environmental responsibility, this can remind Jews that harmful choices are known to God even when other people do not notice them. It can encourage sincere care for creation rather than environmentally responsible behaviour performed only to gain public approval. The principle is about God’s knowledge; its environmental significance follows from applying that belief to human choices.

Caring for people who come after us

Sustainability means meeting present needs without undermining future generations’ ability to meet theirs. The story of Honi, also called Choni, gives this idea a concrete form.

Honi sees a man planting a carob tree and asks how long it will take to bear fruit. The man answers seventy years. When Honi asks whether he expects to live long enough to enjoy it, the man explains that his ancestors planted for him, so he is planting for his children. The point is that a worthwhile action need not benefit the person performing it immediately. People inherit the benefits of earlier generations’ care and have responsibilities to those who follow them.

A related teaching in Avot d’Rabbi Natan 31b says that someone planting a tree should finish planting it before going to greet the Messiah. This gives practical care for the world striking importance: even an extraordinary religious event does not make the task disposable.

These teachings can encourage conserving resources and supporting decisions whose benefits will extend beyond one person’s lifetime.

Environmental responsibility reaches beyond national borders

Global citizenship means recognising responsibilities beyond one’s own country. Climate change makes this important because environmental harm and its consequences do not stop at borders.

A Reform Jewish approach connects environmental action with justice. Deuteronomy 16:20 commands people to pursue justice. Applied to climate change, this supports the argument that countries most responsible for causing the problem should take greater responsibility for addressing it. It also draws attention to poorer and more vulnerable communities, which may suffer serious consequences despite having contributed less to the problem.

Environmental care is therefore not only about protecting trees or reducing rubbish. It also concerns whose health, homes and livelihoods are protected, and how fairly the costs of change are shared. Responses can include reducing waste, making responsible purchases and supporting policies that conserve resources. Gemilut hasadim can support concern for those affected, whether or not they live in one’s own country.

Humanist Climate Action: responsibility without belief in God

An argument for environmental responsibility does not have to depend on belief in God. Humanism is a non-religious worldview that uses reason, evidence and concern for wellbeing to guide ethical decisions. Humanists see humans as part of the natural world and recognise responsibilities towards fellow beings and the environment, including current and future generations.

Humanist Climate Action is a volunteer-led network of Humanists UK members and supporters. It brings Humanists together to encourage low-carbon, ethical and sustainable living and to campaign for environmentally friendly policies. Its approach is to follow the best available scientific evidence and promote rational discussion about environmental problems and their solutions.

Its activities connect these aims to both individual and collective action. It encourages people to plant trees, write to their MPs calling for climate action and use a discussion toolkit to consider their environmental impact and commit to changes. It also supports wider campaigning through its membership of The Climate Coalition. Changing personal habits matters, but campaigning recognises that government decisions also affect environmental outcomes.

Comparing religious and non-religious reasons

Jewish stewardship and Humanist environmental ethics can lead to similar practical conclusions: conserve resources, reduce pollution and consider the consequences of consumption. Both can support sustainability and responsibilities beyond national borders.

The difference lies in the foundation of the argument. Jewish stewardship can appeal to God’s ownership of creation, sacred teachings and religious duties. Maimonides’ tenth principle adds the belief that God knows human choices. Humanists do not need this belief: evidence about environmental harm and ethical concern for others can provide reasons to act.

A Humanist might argue that environmental policies should be justified through evidence and reasons that people of different beliefs can assess. A Jewish response could be that religious teachings provide an additional, powerful motivation for care without preventing the use of scientific evidence. The Reform Jewish concern for conservation and climate justice shows that religious commitments can support practical environmental action.

Agreement about an action therefore does not require agreement about its religious justification. Equally, identifying as religious or non-religious does not by itself show how responsibly someone behaves.

Weighing human needs against environmental protection

One argument gives priority to using resources for immediate human needs. People need food, housing, energy and employment, so a rule against every alteration of nature would be impractical and could harm those already living in poverty. Dominion can be used to support humanity’s authority to make use of nature.

The opposing argument is that short-term benefits cannot justify unlimited environmental damage. Pollution and resource depletion can undermine human wellbeing, especially for vulnerable people and future generations. Genesis 2:15 qualifies human authority with care; the carob-tree story challenges the assumption that only immediate benefits matter; and bal tashchit challenges unnecessary waste. Humanists can reach a similar objection by considering evidence of long-term harm.

A justified conclusion can distinguish responsible use from needless destruction. Meeting genuine human needs can be compatible with stewardship and sustainability, provided that decisions consider long-term effects and distribute benefits and burdens fairly. On this view, caring for people and caring for the environment are closely connected rather than automatically opposed.

Jewish teachings

• Genesis 1:28: dominion — human authority over nature.
• Genesis 2:15: work and care for the garden — authority includes stewardship.
• Psalm 24: the earth belongs to God.
• Tikkun olam: repairing the world through action, including environmental care.
• Bal tashchit; Deuteronomy 20:19–20: oppose needless destruction and waste.
• Gemilut hasadim: loving-kindness without expecting repayment; relevant to helping people affected by environmental harm.
• Maimonides’ tenth principle: God knows human actions and thoughts; can motivate sincere environmental responsibility.

Future generations and justice

• Honi’s carob tree: ancestors planted for us; we should plant for those who follow.
• Avot d’Rabbi Natan 31b: finish planting before greeting the Messiah.
• Deuteronomy 16:20: pursue justice; consider vulnerable communities and fair responsibility for climate action.
• Sustainability considers future needs; global citizenship extends responsibility beyond national borders.

Humanist Climate Action

• Basis: reason, scientific evidence and concern for fellow beings and the natural world — not belief in God.
• Aims: low-carbon, ethical, sustainable lifestyles and environmentally friendly policies.
• Actions: tree planting, writing to MPs, group discussions and campaigning through The Climate Coalition.

Comparison and evaluation

• Jewish and Humanist approaches can agree on actions while differing over their justification.
• Balance immediate needs for food, energy and employment against long-term environmental harm.
• Distinguish necessary resource use from needless destruction; consider future generations and fairness.