How Religion Can Influence Fear of Our Environment - Jonas Miller 03/10

Current sociology describes six emotions that are felt universally across all cultures: anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise, and fear. This blog will discuss the emotion of fear and how it can be influenced by culture, specifically religion, to define our response to elements of our environment. By our current understanding of infant development, newborn babies innately fear two things: falling and loud noises. Therefore, for broad strokes purposes, every other fear response that a person experiences is due to nurture, not nature. A key part of any cultural upbringing is explaining to children what elements of their local environment should be treated with caution. For example, knowing when it is appropriate to cross a dangerous road is something almost every child on earth must learn to some degree. Other instances of culture impacting the way we experience fear can be brought on by religion.

In fact, there is historical evidence of how a religious shift within a region can change the degree of fear and violence towards certain animals, particularly snakes. One example of such can be found in Northern Europe during the 5th through 10th centuries, as described by Lenders and Janssen in their article, The grass snake and the basilisk: From pre-Christian protective house god to the antichrist (2014). When the Pagan religion dominated the region, the harmless European grass snake (Natrix natrix) was seen as a protector of the household. This spiritual title given to the snake by the people of the area reflects an unusual ecological occurrence. Interestingly, evidence suggests that grass snakes, the sole native snake in the region, were only able to extend their habitat range into Northern latitudes thanks to the compost mounds that existed near human farms and homes. These mounds of livestock feces and food scraps maintained warmer temperatures than the outside environment due to decomposition, thus creating an ideal microhabitat for over-wintering and egg laying. Humans and snakes learned to live in the same space, without mutual fear.

When Christianity entered the region, the local perspective towards grass snakes began to change. In the book of Genesis, the devil takes the form of a serpent to deceive Eve in the Garden of Eden. Snakes are used as a symbol of evil or sinfulness throughout the Bible, leading to their lack of favor in Christian nations. An animal once seen as the protector of the home became victim of persecution and fear, all due to a shift in religious identity. In modern times, education on the harmless nature of grass snakes has relieved some of the pressures placed on them by people and the species continues to be found near human settlements to this day. Other species of snakes are far less fortunate, facing severe risks of local or large-scale extinction partially due to direct human persecution. While culture and religion are often a beautiful thing, it is important for us to recognize when our religious education gets something wrong. This lesson should be applied to far more than animal conservation, although it is a good place to start.