The Christian Ideal of Sustainable Development and Its Perception among Young Adults: A Case Study from Slovakia

Abstract

In this article, we present the concept of the participation and responsibility of individuals in the sustainable development (SD) of the world from a Christian ethics point of view. The Christian ethics perspective is based on the biblical command to care for and protect creation. Nevertheless, errors have been repeated throughout history because of a misunderstanding of human responsibility for what has been entrusted to man from the beginning. The article explores not only these mistakes, but also the concept of a properly understood individual responsibility from the point of view of Christian ethics. The ideal from the perspective of Christian ethics is followed by our own qualitative research. The research sample consists of 120 young adults. During the research, the perception of a person’s individual responsibility tasks for SD is explored from the perspective of university students. The research findings answer the question of in which of the four areas of SD do respondents see the needs of their participation the most. The findings of the research also indicate the importance that the young respondents allocated to all four areas of SD, which were clearly defined by The National Strategic Document on Sustainable Development in Slovakia. Furthermore, we recorded a total of 12 main areas that the respondents considered to be important tasks of man for the world and its SD. We also evaluated the qualitative findings in the group of young adults that confirm the perception of each student’s individual participation and responsibility for the SD of society and the physical world.