There are Christian movements that are powerful advocates of responsible environmental stewardship, but there are others whose faith appears to be the basis of their rejection of environmentalism. Christian beliefs are important to efforts to combat climate change and protect the natural world. Christianity is the world’s largest
religion comprising 2 billion people or 31.59
percent of the world’s population. The role of religion in ecological advocacy is important because spiritual convictions often fuel environmental concern. According to a Treehugger article, 67 percent of Americans say they care about the environment because it is “God’s
creation.”
The
US is the world’s largest Christian nation with 225
million adherents or 76 percent
of the total population, the majority (51 percent) are protestant. With such a large number of Christians in the US, (as well as Canada and Europe), the beliefs of this religious tradition have a significant bearing on prevailing social and political attitudes.
While Evangelicals, Episcopalians and Mennonites are among US Christian groups that support climate care, some American Christian groups are adding fuel to climate denial.
Research by Yale’s
Dan Kahan showed that there is a correlation between a person’s religiosity
and his or her tendency to think that global warming isn’t much of a
risk.
The new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is the most environmental
pope in the Church’s history. His statements, including opposition to hydraulic fracking, are an important counterpoint to Christian groups that use their faith as a pretext for climate denial.
© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
Related Articles
Video – Using the Bible as Religious Support for Climate Denial
Religious Leaders Protest the Keystone XL Pipeline
The Religious Psychology of Green
The Symbolism of Easter in an Ecological Context
Pope Francis the Environmentalist
Crafting a Positive Environmental Narrative
How Morality Can Win the War on Climate Change
An Environmentalist and a Buddhist Monk Discuss Human Behavior
Sacred Economics: Exploring the Myth of Separation (Video)
Green Ethics
Green Ethics and Trade
Discover more from Change Oracle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
