Rituals and Environmental Conservation

Environmentalism has been criticised as being excessively science oriented and bureaucratic. This view has developed largely due to a lack of engagement with cultural, philosophical & religious aspect of societies in the context of environmentalism. For example, lived experience and innate environmental values as expressed &conserved in the form of religious rituals have not been elaborated in detail. In response to this gap, this work considers the popular Hindu rituals performed by lay persons centred around Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) . The work examines the impact of globalization & urbanization on rituals around Peepal, for which scientific evidence exists to show it’s beneficial influence on the environment. The study was carried out in urban, semi urban & rural location in an Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Research methods like interview, participant & non participant observation were used. Significant amount of protection of Peepal tree due to its religious and ritualistic importance was found and there is an increase in the ritual activities due to influence of astrologers & media. This may have both positive and negative effects on both the tree & rituals.