Awareness of the Role of “Religious People” in Environmental Conservation from the Perspective of Islamic Studies Students

Abstract

Protecting and conserving the environment is the responsibility of every individual including religious people in the Islamic context. Religious people play an important role in environmental conservation because they have the ability to cultivate public awareness on environmental conservation by linking the field of environmental conservation with religious knowledge. However, studies that focus on the role of religious people in helping the efforts of environmental conservation are still lacking. Therefore, this study explored the awareness of the role of religious people in environmental conservation from the perspective of students enrolled in the Islamic studies program. This study is a qualitative study where data were obtained from the reflective assignments of second year Islamic studies students who were following the Global Ecology and Sustainable Development course. Data were analyzed thematically using the ATLAS.ti version 7 software. Based on the findings, there are eight main roles played by religious people from the students’ perspectives. The eight themes, sequentially arranged from the highest to the lowest, are providing environmental awareness to the public, adopting a sustainable lifestyle, becoming a role model, conducting environmental campaigns, working together with NGOs or the authorities, enhancing Islamic values in relation to the environment in oneself, becoming an environmental volunteer and contributing financially to environmental conservation. The role of religious people that was proposed by the students is in line with the Islamic values related to environmental conservation, namely ta’awun, mahabbah,ihsan and qana’ah. These values need to be lived and translated into behavior by religious persons so that they are followed and made a role model by the public in contributing toward environmental sustainability efforts.