New
New
Year 9

Stewardship versus dominion

I can explain how Judeo-Christian beliefs about stewardship and dominion influence some human attitudes toward the environment.

New
New
Year 9

Stewardship versus dominion

I can explain how Judeo-Christian beliefs about stewardship and dominion influence some human attitudes toward the environment.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Philosophy helps us explore big questions about how we treat the world, using reason and logical thinking.
  2. Dominion is a belief that humans were given power by God to rule over the Earth.
  3. Stewardship teaches that humans have a responsibility to care for the world God created and protect it.
  4. Mary Midgley argued that anthropocentrism contributes to environmental destruction.
  5. Instead, she believed humans should see themselves as part of nature, not above it.

Keywords

  • Stewardship - looking after the world on behalf of God

  • Dominion - having God-given power or control over the Earth’s resources

  • Anthropocentric - seeing humans as central and the most important part of the universe

  • Judeo-Christian - beliefs shared by Judaism and Christianity

Common misconception

Students might think that there is only one interpretation of Genesis passages linked to creation.

Genesis passages can be interpreted to argue for either dominion or stewardship. Most Christians in the UK today take a stewardship interpretation.


To help you plan your year 9 religious education lesson on: Stewardship versus dominion, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You might like to give students copies of the Biblical passages so they can annotate them and look for evidence. Use 'I do, we do, you do' approaches to aid interpretation. Speak to the Biblical context of these being ancient passages and not written as scientific accounts.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
Which section of the Bible includes stories like Noah and Moses?

New Testament
Correct answer: Old Testament
Book of Psalms

Q2.
What does the Bible say after God created the world?

God rested forever
God said, “It needs more light”
Correct answer: God saw that it was good

Q3.
What is found in the New Testament?

Correct answer: Stories about Jesus and his disciples.
Rules for building temples.
Laws given to Moses.

Q4.
What is a Christian denomination?

A place where Christians worship.
Correct answer: A branch or group within Christianity.
A new religion formed from Christianity.

Q5.
Which Christian group helps care for the environment?

Correct answer: Christian Aid
The Crusaders
The Desert Fathers

Assessment exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
Match each term to its meaning.

Correct Answer:Stewardship,looking after the world on behalf of God

looking after the world on behalf of God

Correct Answer:Anthropocentric,seeing humans as central and most important

seeing humans as central and most important

Correct Answer:Judeo-Christian,beliefs shared by Judaism and Christianity

beliefs shared by Judaism and Christianity

Q2.
Some people interpret dominion as the God-given of humans over nature.

Correct Answer: rule, Rule

Q3.
Genesis passages about creation only support dominion.

True – God gives total control to humans.
Correct answer: False – they can support dominion or stewardship.
False – they say humans must destroy nature.

Q4.
What did Midgley say about anthropocentrism?

It helps protect the environment.
It is a new way of understanding humans.
Correct answer: It no longer makes sense in the modern world.

Q5.
Mary Midgley said harming the Earth is like sawing off the we’re sitting on.

Correct Answer: branch, Branch