Village and Space Sustainable Development

Village and Space Sustainable Development

Analyzing the Causal Link between Spirituality and Environmental Responsibility from the Perspective of Local People (Case Study: Ardabil County)

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Vakil Heidari Sarban
Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Geography and Urban-Rural Planning, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Iran.
10.22077/vssd.2025.9876.1328
Abstract
1. Introduction
The global environmental crisis underscores the urgent need to transcend narrow technocratic frameworks in favor of the ethical and spiritual paradigms governing human-nature interactions. Despite ongoing policy interventions, rural Ardabil County faces severe ecological degradation—characterized by biodiversity loss, accelerated soil erosion, and unsustainable resource use—driven by the erosion of communal traditions and a shift toward short-term consumerism. While conventional rural development models typically attribute these challenges to technical or economic deficits, this research posits that environmental responsibility is fundamentally anchored in internal existential dimensions. By investigating the nexus between multidimensional spirituality, self-actualization, and ecological stewardship, this study aims to provide a critical, interdisciplinary framework for designing effective sustainability interventions in vulnerable agrarian landscapes.

2. Methodology
Employing a quantitative, developmental, and correlational survey design, this study investigated the structural relationship between multidimensional spirituality and agro-environmental responsibility among rural inhabitants of Ardabil County. Primary empirical data were gathered through structured household surveys and face-to-face interviews administered to a representative sample of rural residents selected via multi-stage stratified random sampling. The measurement framework operationalized two primary constructs using rigorously validated instruments: an independent Multidimensional Spirituality Scale comprising 42 items—which conceptualized spirituality not as rigid institutional religiosity, but as a fluid existential path encompassing self-control, behavioral stability, ontological inquiry, authentic living, personal meaning generation, positive self-knowledge, compassion, existential hope, benevolence, aesthetic sensitivity, mindfulness, and autonomy from external social conformity—and a dependent Agro-Environmental Responsibility Scale adapted to regional socio-ecological conditions to measure key conservation behaviors, including sustainable agronomic practices, soil conservation vigilance, the cessation of post-harvest residue burning, rangeland preservation, sanitary waste and wastewater disposal, adoption of eco-compatible crops, and collective environmental stewardship. Construct and content validities were confirmed through an expert panel in rural development and environmental psychology, while scale reliability was firmly established using Cronbach’s alpha (α>0.78\alpha > 0.78α>0.78 across all dimensions), after which bivariate Pearson correlation coefficients and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS.

3. Findings
The empirical findings demonstrate that agro-environmental responsibility is fundamentally anchored in an individual’s internal spiritual and existential orientation, as evidenced by robust correlation analyses revealing highly significant positive associations (p<0.01p < 0.01p<0.01) between environmental stewardship and dimensions such as internal self-control, ontological curiosity, authentic living, self-love, existential hope, truth-seeking, benevolence, inner reconciliation, self-reliance, and psychological autonomy from societal conformism, alongside moderately significant positive relationships (p<0.05p < 0.05p<0.05) with behavioral stability, interpersonal kindness, personal meaning generation, and present-moment awareness, whereas abstract altruism, extreme individualism, superficial optimism, tolerance, and basic self-honesty exhibited no statistically significant direct effects (p>0.05p > 0.05p>0.05). Beyond these bivariate metrics, the qualitative and theoretical synthesis highlights that genuine proactive stewardship is predominantly exercised by benevolent, truth-oriented, and aesthetically conscious actors whose ethical orientation stems from an arduous process of self-actualization, delineating a profound dichotomy between autonomous moral agency (self-governance)—which fosters an expansive sense of accountability toward nature and society—and heteronomous conformity (other-governance), which breeds indifference toward ecological crises. Furthermore, while rural dwellers motivated by extrinsic rewards such as wealth, status, and social validation systematically disregarded environmental vulnerability, those oriented toward intrinsic values including justice, communal security, and the existential mode of being rather than having exhibited heightened ecological vigilance, thereby substantiating the conclusion that environmental preservation is intrinsically mediated by internal self-refinement and that only through self-governance and unattached, principled moral duty—independent of external transactional rewards—can rural actors genuinely commit to safeguarding fragile ecosystems.

4. Discussion and Conclusion
The empirical evidence suggests that regulatory and technocratic interventions alone are insufficient to reverse rural ecosystem degradation in Ardabil County, as prevailing environmental apathy is deeply rooted in an alienation from moral agency and an obsession with material accumulation. This research bridges existential psychology, environmental ethics, and rural sociology by demonstrating that genuine ecological responsibility is an organic manifestation of internal existential coherence, wherein the transition toward moral self-governance enables individuals to abandon destructive, short-term utilitarian practices in favor of principled stewardship. Consequently, sustainable rural governance in Iran and comparable regions must transcend purely technical paradigms by integrating transformative socio-environmental education that fosters intrinsic ethical maturity and communal solidarity; ultimately, by anchoring ecological citizenship in this foundation of moral autonomy, policy frameworks can effectively build enduring socio-ecological resilience and ensure the long-term sustainability of fragile rural territories.
Keywords
Spirituality
environmental responsibility
environmental protection
rural sustainable development
Ardabil County
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 04 August 2025
  • Revise Date 05 October 2025
  • Accept Date 27 November 2025