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THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT. A LITERATURE REVIEW

Lech Euzebiusz GRUSZECKI1, Bartosz JÓŹWIK2, Beata FAŁDA3, Andrzej PIETRZAK4, Adam LECKO5

Frameworks for integrating interdisciplinary research

Publication language: English

Journal article

Transformations No. 2 (117) 2023,  Publication date: 30 June 2023

Article No. 20230630221740360

Keywords: religion; economic growth; environment; environmental Kuznets curve

Abstract The article analyses the relationship between religious faith and economic growth, as well as between religious faith and the quality of the natural environment. By examining the literature through the lens of the environmental Kuznets curve, this paper aims to provide insights into the complex relationship between these issues and to offer guidance for policymakers seeking to reconcile economic growth with environmental sustainability. The research indicates that both of these relationships are closely related, and the Environmental Kuznets Curve provides the link between them. Therefore, engagement by religious leaders and local communities in the fight against environmental degradation and climate change is highly desirable and expected. Cooperation among all faiths that acknowledge the anthropogenic nature of the environmental catastrophe is also desirable. The research also indicates that, in the case of developed countries, the improvement of the quality of the environment is facilitated by the deepening of individual religiosity correlated with universal ethical systems that include respect for nature as created by God and being His image.

  1. The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Department of Econometrics and Statistics, Institute of Economics and Finance, Poland

    ORCID: 0000-0001-7392-5985

    E-mail: llech.gruszecki@kul.pl

  2. The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Department of Econometrics and Statistics, Institute of Economics and Finance, Poland

    ORCID: 0000-0002-1418-2031

    E-mail: bartosz.jozwik@kul.pl

  3. University College of Applied Sciences in Chełm, Poland

    ORCID: 0000-0003-0338-4735

    E-mail: bfalda@panschelm.edu.pl

  4. The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Department of Religiology and Missiology, Poland

    ORCID: 0000-0001-6793-0681

    E-mail: andrzej.pietrzak@kul.pl

  5. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland

    ORCID: 0000-0002-0185-9402

    E-mail: alecko@matman.uwm.edu.pl