Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in which some Evangelical Christian organizations have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the care taking of Creation. While the movement has focused on different environmental issues, it is best known for its focus of addressing climate action from a biblically-grounded theological perspective.
Some Evangelical groups have allied with environmentalists in teaching knowledge and developing awareness of global warming.
Evangelical environmentalists are based on the Bible, particularly on Genesis 2:15, [1] to take care of God's Creation: "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." [2]
From an Evangelical environmentalist perspective, the response to the ecological crisis involves the restoration of correct doctrine, the restoration of Christianity as guide, and a balancing of the Bible and biology. It is important to Evangelical environmentalists that they are not seen as worshiping nature; they feel obligated to the stewardship of creation because of their focus on the creator of nature. [3]
In Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet Merritt states the Noah Covenant is God entering a Covenant with all the Earth by citing Gen 9:9-10. [4] Merritt continues from Gen 2:15 ...
The International Evangelical Environmental Network was founded in 1992 by the World Evangelical Alliance. [6] In 2021, the Network has engaged in a number of candlelight vigils throughout the United States. [7] [8] [9] [10]
Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA) was founded as youth ministry by the Evangelical Environmental Network. [11] [12] Members of Young Evangelicals for Climate Action participated in the September 2019 climate strikes at about a dozen colleges and universities, with a message of creation care and a faith-based approach to "speaking up for people's right to clean air and water and a stable climate." [13]
The Evangelical Climate Initiative was launched in February 2006 by the National Association of Evangelicals in the United States. [14] The initiative aims to campaign for environmental reform, calling on all Christians to push for federal legislation that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to stem global warming. [11]
The Creation Care Task Force was founded in 2012 by the World Evangelical Alliance. [15] In 2019, it established a Sustainability Center in Bonn, Germany. [16]
In January 2006, a group of evangelicals opposed the Evangelical Climate Initiative's stance and issued a letter to the NAE which stated that "global warming is not a consensus issue, and our love for the Creator and respect for His Creation does not require us to take a position [supporting a cap and trade tax increase]". In 2007 the New York Times reported, "leaders of the conservative Christian wing of the Republican Party, including James Dobson, Gary Bauer and Paul Weyrich, told the policy director of the NAE, the Rev. Richard Cizik, to shut up already about global warming". [17]
Ann Coulter focuses on Genesis 1:27-28 which gives dominion to humanity over nature. Ann Coulter claims: "God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'" [18] Lynn White (1967) implies that this is a common view among Christians, but the accuracy of this statement is debatable.
In November 2022, a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, found that evangelicals were the most skeptical religious group regarding global warming. [19] 17% of Evangelical did not believe that there is solid evidence showing that the Earth is warming. 32% of Evangelical did believe that there was evidence because of human activity, but 36% did believe that warming was due to natural patterns. 53% of the total U.S. population does believe that the Earth is warming because of human influences and 66% of unaffiliated Americans believe that global warming due to human impacts is real.
The environmental movement is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. Environmentalists advocate the just and sustainable management of resources and stewardship of the environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior. In its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered on ecology, health, as well as human rights.
Spiritual ecology is an emerging field in religion, conservation, and academia that proposes that there is a spiritual facet to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of spiritual ecology assert a need for contemporary nature conservation work to include spiritual elements and for contemporary religion and spirituality to include awareness of and engagement in ecological issues.
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. Ecologism is more commonly used in continental European languages, while environmentalism is more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.
The Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI) is a campaign by US-American church leaders and organizations to promote market based mechanisms to mitigate global warming.
Ecospirituality connects the science of ecology with spirituality. It brings together religion and environmental activism. Ecospirituality has been defined as "a manifestation of the spiritual connection between human beings and the environment." The new millennium and the modern ecological crisis has created a need for environmentally based religion and spirituality. Ecospirituality is understood by some practitioners and scholars as one result of people wanting to free themselves from a consumeristic and materialistic society. Ecospirituality has been critiqued for being an umbrella term for concepts such as deep ecology, ecofeminism, and nature religion.
Ecotheology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of religion and nature, particularly in the light of environmental concerns. Ecotheology generally starts from the premise that a relationship exists between human religious/spiritual worldviews and the degradation or restoration and preservation of nature. It explores the interaction between ecological values, such as sustainability, and the human domination of nature. The movement has produced numerous religious-environmental projects around the world.
Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world, humanity, and the gifts and resources that have been entrusted to us. Believers in stewardship are usually people who believe in one God who created the universe and all that is within it, also believing that they must take care of creation and look after it. Creation includes animals and the environment. Many religions and denominations have various degrees of support for environmental stewardship. It can have political implications, such as in Christian democracy.
Richard Cizik is the president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. He was the Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and one of the most prominent Evangelical lobbyists in the United States. In his position with the NAE, Cizik's primary responsibilities were setting the organisation's policy on issues and lobbying the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Cizik also served as NAE's national spokesman and edited a monthly magazine, NAE Washington Insight. Since 2003, Cizik has been active in a type of environmentalism known as "creation care". His stance on global warming has drawn both support and criticism from fellow Evangelicals. He serves on the board of advisors of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.
Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theology amongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus.
Christian views on environmentalism vary greatly amongst different Christians and Christian denominations.
The Green Bible is an English version of the New Revised Standard Version Bible with a focus on environmental issues and teachings. It was originally published by Harper Bibles on October 7, 2008. It is a study Bible featuring a foreword by Desmond Tutu and essays by Matthew Sleeth, Calvin B. DeWitt, Pope John Paul II, Brian McLaren, Ellen Bernstein, Ellen F. Davis, James Jones (bishop), N.T. Wright, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Gordon Aeschliman.
Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility, first published in October 2007, is a book written by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, both long-time environmental strategists. Break Through is an argument for a positive, "post-environmental" politics that abandons the traditional environmentalist focus on nature protection for a focus on creating a new sustainable economy.
The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation is a conservative Christian public policy group that claims that a free-market approach to care for the environment is sufficient, and is critical of much of the current environmental movement. The Alliance is "engaged in a wide range of antienvironmental activities" and denies man-made global warming.
Deborah Fikes is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of directors of the Arms Control Association. She is a co-president of Religions for Peace, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, with offices in New York. Fikes serves as an executive advisor to the World Evangelical Alliance, which represents a constituency of 650 million with alliance offices in 129 countries, and was the WEA's permanent representative to the United Nations from 2009-2016. She served for three consecutive terms as a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), which represents 45,000 churches in the United States.
Matthew Sleeth is an American author and advocate of creation care. A former emergency department physician, Sleeth wrote his first book, Serve God, Save the Planet (Zondervan), in May 2006. Since then, he has spoken more than 900 times in churches, schools and to media outlets about the biblical mandate to care for the Earth.
The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), is a nonprofit organization, founded and directed by Rabbi Yonatan Neril in 2010. Based in Jerusalem, ICSD connects religion and ecology and mobilizes faith communities to act. ICSD's director has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, multiple UN climate conferences, and the Parliament of World Religions.
Katharine Anne Scott Hayhoe is a Canadian atmospheric scientist. She is a Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor and an Endowed Chair in Public Policy and Public Law at the Texas Tech University Department of Political Science. In 2021, Hayhoe joined the Nature Conservancy as Chief Scientist.
Islamic environmentalism is a strand of environmental philosophy as well as an Islamic movement that employs environmental principles derived from Islamic scriptures and traditions to the environment and the modern-day environmental crisis. Muslim environmentalists believe in God's absolute sovereignty over nature and emphasize humanity's role as God's vicegerent, making it their duty to protect and preserve the environment. Islamic environmentalism encompasses Islamic ecological philosophy, Sharia-based environmental law, and Islamic environmental activism.
Ellen Sue Bernstein was an American rabbi, author, and educator. She has been called the "birthmother of Jewish environmentalism" and a prominent figure in the world of religion and ecology. Bernstein's work focused on how the Bible and Judaism provide a guide for connecting with and healing the Earth.
GreenFaith is a global interfaith environmental coalition. Focusing on grassroots activism, it encourages faith leaders worldwide to invest in green energy, divest from fossil fuels, and publicly advocate for climate justice on a religious basis. It also "offers training programs, resources, and campaigns to support faith-based environmental initiatives," organizes "interfaith environmental events" and facilitates "dialogue between religious leaders, environmentalists, and policymakers".
