A Christian Declaration on Nature

A declaration regarding the conservation of nature from the point of view of Christianity that emerged from the first inter-religious meeting on nature conservation in Assisi (Italy) in 1986, organized by WWF International. After the meeting statements from representatives of the world’s five major religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism – were issued that addressed the issue of nature conservation from the point of view of faith.Nature is God’s creation. God created nothing unnecessarily and omitted nothing that is necessary. Even in the mutual opposition of the various elements of the universe there is a divine harmony. The different forms of existence of beings and the purpose of their existence leads the beauty of the universe towards a state of perfection. Man has been given the greatest responsibility because he has been entrusted with the dominion over other beings and their safeguard. But throughout history man has committed many injustices, has dominated and exploited nature to the point of not living in harmony with creation. This statement calls for the rejection of all human activities that lead to wars, discrimination and the destruction of cultures, and that do not respect the true interests of humanity and, therefore, do not allow men to fulfil their vocation within the harmony of the universe.