Religion and Environmentalism

Playing Unmonopoly, some might argue, is akin to "playing God."  Saving land for biodiversity is like building Noah's Ark, and every decision on policy related to conservation favors some species or another, with godlike implications. Certainly, there are many whose religious beliefs and environmentalism run hand in glove.

But religion is not based on science, while environmentalism is.  And divisiveness among religions is the rule, while it is the exception among the environmental community where the scientific method, rather than faith and dogma, becomes the arbiter of disputes. 

Those who wish to be successful at the game of Unmonopoly would do well to keep their religion separate, perhaps as a partner but not as the leader, if one wishes to gain the necessary respect from all the stakeholders in seeking a sustainable world with a healthy environment, with clean air and pure water.  The historical conflicts of religion unfortunately tend to be settled by war, an approach which is the antithesis of conservation.

An excellent article on the subject of whether Environmentalism is a Religion is found at the following website.  I encourage interested readers to pursue it:   http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/default.asp
Incidentally, NRDC, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the website where the above article is found, has been a key player in the conservation game for a generation.

DBB