Exploring the interplay of environmental conservation within spirituality and multicultural perspective: insights from a cross-sectional study

The need to protect and sustain environmental resources for future generation remains sacrosanct in global sustainability agenda. This study was aimed at exploring the interplay between environmental conservation and spirituality from a multicultural perspective. While studies on “spirituality” have monumentally gained global attention, a growing number of evidence underscore the critical role of spiritual resources available for ensuring environmental stewardship. In this present study, attempt was made to respond to some critical questions: Is there any significant association between spirituality and environmental responsibility? What is the impact of spiritual leadership on environmental conservation? What key messages do spiritual leaders need to prioritize to encourage environmental conservation? And what are some of the spirituality-related predictors of willingness to engage in global environmental conservation efforts among the respondents? To determine this nexus between spirituality and environmentalism, a cross-sectional study design was adopted. Primary data were collected by means of a validated and adapted instrument from various literature searches. Data collected from a sample of 1,438 respondents were entered on Excel spreadsheet and eventually exported on SPSS version 21 for further analysis. Every segment of the instrument used yielded a Cronbach’s alpha reliability test result of no less than 0.70. Descriptive statistics and ordinal logistics regression analysis were employed. The findings revealed that majority of respondents expressed a high level of spirituality (p value < 0.05). Majority (70%) of the respondents believe that everyone has a duty of care toward nature. More than two-third (> 60.0%) would be more inclined to observing environmental conservative measures if their spiritual leaders would continue to give exemplary teachings on environmental conservation. While a few indicators of spirituality yielded direct correlation with the willingness to engage in global environmental conservation efforts, most of the selected indicators reflect willingness. Some of these (predictors) include how often respondents pray, meditate, and fast; caring about people, animals, and the planet; being just happy to be alive; etc. In conclusion, this study reasoned that spirituality could indeed serve as a foundation for environmental conservation campaigns and could reinforce pro-environmental behaviors.