Layer 3: Religious stewardship principles (e.g., Islam's caliph, Christianity's dominion-as-care).
Layer 4: Global capitalist structures and fossil fuel regimes.
Layer 5: Cosmological or spiritual views of nature (e.g., Gaia theory, Indigenous metaphysics).
However, environmental ethics is often weakened by flattening the discourse to Layer 4 (economic policies) or Layer 3 (green dogma), neglecting the moral polyphony required for meaningful climate action.
Application:
SMH supports environmental deliberation that honors Indigenous epistemologies, long-term spiritual-moral obligations, and ethical diversity, vital for mobilizing global cooperation.
7.4 Character Education and Shifting Values
Educational systems are often caught between promoting Layer 2 morality (social conformity and discipline) and Layer 3 morality (religious doctrine), while 21st-century learners increasingly respond to Layer 1 (empathy, mental health) and Layer 4 (critical literacy, equity, inclusion).
Globalization and digital culture further amplify value shifts, eroding previous moral unities and requiring new pedagogies that can accommodate moral pluralism without descending into relativism.
Application:
SMH enables educators to:
