Sri Lanka holds inter-faith workshop on environment

(November 27, 2009) A recent multi-faith gathering in Sri Lanka that included environmentalists, students and diplomats outlined the personal and religious responsibilities that all people have to protect the natural world. A four-day workshop on the theme "Saving Planet Earth," held on the outskirts of Colombo, covered the main issues to be raised at the world leaders' Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen next month. Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Hindu leaders all said environmental protection is close to the heart of their religious principles. Father Noel Dias of Colombo archdiocese quoted the book of Genesis of the Bible, saying God made people stewards and trustees of the earth and its resources, not its owners. Swami Shanker Kamalanathan, a Hindu priest called on people to shun rampant consumerism saying Hinduism sees God in every object in the universe. Buddhist monk Olande Ananda Thero warned of dire warnings when relations between man and the natural world degenerate due to greed. Muslim cleric Moulawi Nilam said Islamic views on ecology are similar to those of Christianity and called on students to use their skills for a better world.