Consumption, Wastefulness, and Simplicity in Ultra-Orthodox Communities.

Environmental degradation and climate change are some of the greatest challenges of our current era. Consumption patterns in much of the world are a direct driver of this dangerous situation. We consume more than we need and waste more than the planet can tolerate. Despite the best intentions and efforts of the modern environmental movement, consumption habits have proven to be stubbornly resistant to change. The largely secular environmental movement has been limited in its reach and has struggled to find a narrative that is broadly motivating. In contradistinction, religious values create a conceptual framework instructing people on how they should interact with the environment and have proven to be a strong behavioral motivator for many people in multiple arenas. The existence of a prohibition against wastefulness (bal tashḥit) in Judaism might lead one to assume that halakhically observant Jews lead lives that minimize consumerism and wastefulness to the greatest extent possible. It has even been argued that Ḥaredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities embrace voluntary simplicity or "willed poverty." This research explores attitudes toward consumption, the environment, and wastefulness among Ḥaredi communities in Canada and Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]