Natural Law Foundations of Laudato Si’ – Christian Principles for Ecological Policies

Environmental concern has become one of the defining moral and political questions of our time, yet Christian engagement with ecological issues is often misunderstood or misrepresented. This research offers a theologically grounded and intellectually rigorous interpretation of Laudato Si’, arguing that authentic creation care must be rooted in natural law, the doctrine of imago Dei, and the Christian understanding of oikos.

Without these foundations, environmental discourse risks drifting either toward pantheistic ecocentrism or toward ideologically driven political radicalism that undermines human dignity and the common good.

The paper explores the central contributions of Laudato Si’, especially the ideas of our “common home” and humanity’s vocation as stewards of creation. It then addresses key philosophical tensions in contemporary environmental thought—most notably the false opposition between anthropocentrism and ecocentrism. Drawing on natural law and the biblical teaching that human beings are created in the image of God, the research shows how Christian anthropology offers a coherent alternative:

one that affirms humanity’s unique moral responsibility while recognizing the intrinsic goodness and order of the created world.

Finally, the study examines how creation care can be translated into political life without abandoning theological truth or falling into revolutionary ideologies. By recovering the concepts of the Christian oikos and polis, it proposes a framework for ecological responsibility that respects subsidiarity, national sovereignty, and the organic structures of social life. Creation care, the paper concludes, is not an optional add-on to Christian ethics but an essential expression of humanity’s calling to live in harmony with creation—and ultimately, with the Creator Himself.