Holidays and Holy Days. The same impulse that drives people to the seaside or mountains for their annual vacation is the same impulse that drives pilgrims to sites of religious importance: a basic need to reconnect with the natural world.

In this week's Earth Report we see how this connection between our love of nature and the human spirit could help us save an embattled earth.

Imbalancing act:

The industrial, scientific and technological revolutions have brought with them great advances in man's understanding of the world. But, paradoxically, this greater understanding has seemingly increased our desire to move away from nature and the laws that govern it.

Even religions have widely accepted the modern paradigm of materialism, consumerism, high living standards and economic growth. Is it now time for an avant garde non-materialistic, non-consumerist world view?

Today, the world's religions are slowly awakening to the power they have to conserve our environment. In every parish, in every Hindu temple, in every religious meeting place there are many opportunities to promote conservation - making environmentalism central to modern religious teaching.

Religion and conservation:

In 1986 the World Wide Fund for Nature invited representatives of the world's major religions to a conference on the environment in Asissi, Italy - the home of St Francis, the patron saint of nature.

Here, the major religions committed themselves to making ecology and conservation the focus of their actions and prayers. And from this meeting has grown a movement for religions to make specific environmental actions.

In November 2000 the major religions will gather again in Khatmandu, Nepal, to celebrate the world and its beauty in a special conference where each religion will make a 'sacred gift' to the world:

The Baha'is have instigated a major educational programme to educate young people about the environment.

The Buddhists have begun turning the forests into sacred, protected, lands.

Christian churches are banning the use of harmful chemicals and running environmental education projects.

The Jains are running reforestation projects across India.

In the Jewish faith, thousands of synagogues across North America are running local environmental schemes.

Islamic banks support sustainable development by providing loans without interest.

And the Taoists have planted millions of trees in China, turning barren hills into forests.

Is it time for environmentalism to celebrate?