Engaging Faith Communities for Bee Protection
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Bees and honey have long played a role in religious traditions around the world.
The early church father St. Ambrose compared Christians to diligent and faithful bees, working for the good of their hive, the Church. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) recognized and recommended the healing properties of honey. Honey and apples are eaten together at the Jewish Rosh Hashanah as a wish for a sweet new year. |
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Religions from Hinduism to the Yoruban religion use honey in sacred offerings or connect honey to the sweetness of divine wisdom.
In fact, humans have been connected with bees since the Stone Age, as attested by an 8000-year-old cave painting near Valencia, Spain, of a honey-gatherer. This shows that bees have been supporting us for longer than we know.
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Honey is only one of many gifts we receive from bees. We can thank them for our fruit, vegetables and flowers. These are only possible when the pollen – that dusty material in the middle of a flower – is carried from one flower to another. This pollen is what fertilizes the flowers and allows them to develop and transform into the food we and other animals eat. Hence, bees provide us and the rest of nature with an irreplaceable service. |
Yet now, these animals are dying out:Our fields of grain have become too big for them to fly across, and the poisons used to kill insects that might eat our crops are deadly to bees as well. Should they die, we will lose a significant portion of our cultural and religious heritage as well as much of what we eat. The loss will be catastrophic.
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That’s why we started Bees for Peace.