This is about the closest thing I have to a religion. The Gaia Theory/Hypothesis is basically the idea that living organisms and their surroundings are part of a dynamic system that shapes the Earth's self regulating biosphere. Not to say I don't believe in climate change and global warming, it's very real. So really, the planet itself is an organism itself. I tend to take this idea a bit further. I think that the collective consciousness of every living thing makes up Earth's consciousness. In my mind, that's all any being is; Awareness confined in a physical body.
These kind of thoughts bring me to an idea of absolute equality between all living things. This is why I usually don't kill spiders or support the death penalty. To me every single living thing is equal, has potential and deserves life. You could call me a hypocrite because I'm not a vegan, but this is still a grey area for me. My actions are contradictory to my beliefs. I like to eat meat. I'm sure it's an essential part of our diet. But I strongly disagree with the mass production and exploitation of animals for human consumption.
If you think about, what we do to other species is a bit like racism or sexism. Humanity's disrespect and discrimination against other species than their own can be called specisism. Although we share the planet with other organisms, which contribute to our existence, we have no empathy or compassion for them. This comes from 'Earthlings', a feature length documentary. It's disturbing at times, but please have a watch: http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=6361872964130308142#. Anyway, these are just my silly thoughts.
