The Nexus Between Religion, Environment and Community: The Case of a Nigerian Community

How much care should one have for planet Earth? Most religious groups see the Earth as a place or object that should be taken care of even though some have deified the Earth. Although some religious people think that caring for the Earth amounts to worship, we can show those of that mindset the common good that could accrue from working together. We look at a private Christian University in Ogun State, Nigeria and how it’s activities are working for the common good of the society.

Increase in population leading to greater demand for resources, an increase in industrial waste generation and economic poverty levels, are challenges that geoscientists,  engineers and stakeholders could collaborate on to find solutions for the common good of the society. Several faculty members at this religious institution, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, are actively involved in environmental and sustainable research projects that would be important to the good of the general public, especially in the local and rural areas near the location of the University. Particularly, water availability and quality along with generation of waste and waste disposal being the top areas where Earth religious scientists/engineers working with the community could achieve a common good for the society.

Several research works examine procurement of potable water, generation of waste, and how our actions, activities or inactivity could lead to environmental degradation, and adversely affect us now or in the near future. We discuss some of the ongoing research works and align them with religious text as a way of getting the skeptics to work together for the common good. “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to Eden to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:15) and Jesus told his disciples to “Gather all the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost” (John 6:12). The presence or lack of resources and human activities have significant health effect on the community. As part of an ongoing study, we are collaborating with the locals, tapping on their religious belief systems, using science and engineering to benefit the good of the society. The outcomes will be presented during the meetings.