Människan, naturen och Gud : En studie av miljöetiken i nutida kristen teologi

Sammanfattning: This study has three aims. The first aim is to analyse and clarify three models of theological environmental ethics. A second aim is to critically examine and compare the environmental ethical models of the three theologians. The third aim is to present a reasonable model of a theological environmental ethic. The overall problem of the study is how an acceptable theological environmental ethic can be constructed.The method used in the study is a content analysis of ideas, allowing the author to reconstruct a model of theological environmental ethics and clarify some important problems which a reasonable theological ethics must relate to. It is argued that a view of life perspective in environmental ethics gives an important complement to philosophical environmental ethics when analysing and constructing environmental ethical models.The theologians analysed in this study represent three different models of theological environmental ethics. Larry Rasmussen provides a communitarian virtue ethical and biocentric model with community, love and justice as central values. Leonardo Boff provides an ecocentric model characterised by his liberation theological standpoint combined with ecology. Boff’s model holds justice as a central value and argues for a responsibility for creating fair relations between humans and between humans and nature. Rosemary Radford Ruether’s model is characterised by ecofeminist theory and feminist theology. Ruether’s model is ecocentric and based on the idea that distorted gender relations are primary causes of the ecological crisis. All theologians in the study use the Bible and the Christian tradition as well as resources from natural and social science when constructing their models.The author of the study proposes her own biocentric model of theological environmental ethics grounded in an awareness of the existential vulnerability of human beings, a principle of ecological justice, a critique of hierarchical relations and the Christian idea of loving your neighbour.