Prompt:
In this module, we have covered materials that explore how religious ideas and religious groups are working to advance sustainability. But we've also looked at examples of religiously-inflected climate denialism and religious opposition to sustainability policies. How do you make sense of these two diametrically opposed implications of religion regarding climate change, perhaps the most significant issue for international politics?
Reply:
Scorched Earth
In my opinion, it’s not surprising that some groups are choosing to advance sustainability while other groups outright deny climate change. In the readings, the topic of the apocalypse was mentioned which I think is essential to understanding why Evangelicals are so ambivalent about Climate Change. If the world is ending anyway, and the fact that it is ending can be seen in the destruction of Earth as we know it, there isn’t any motivation to clean up our messes. Evangelicals WANT the world to end, because the world ending will signal the arrival of the messiah, a goal they are taught to seek every Sunday in church. Why would they want to stop that? Adding to that is the complication that Evangelicals seem to think that they have “dominion” over the Earth and can do with it as they please. While religious leaders know that we need to be good “stewards” of this fair planet, which includes taking care of the people who are most affected by Global Climate Change: the poor, Evangelicals don’t really have that value unless it personally affects them. They just want to destroy the Earth “because G-d gave Adam dominion over all that he saw,” and lighting the planet on fire will bring the Second Coming. Questioning those values would lead them to question their faith on the whole, as was stated in the reading. But religious leaders know that Global Climate Change IS affecting them personally, whether that’s because of its devastating impacts to the souls they are trying to convert, or just inching us closer to another Dust Bowl, they know that this planet isn’t supposed to be as roughed up as we have made her in the last 200 years. We don’t have a back up plan if we scorch this planet. And lighting it on fire won’t make G-d do anything other than take us out in the process. I personally just think that White Evangelicals are, on the whole, a very self-centered bunch of people, and I’m grateful that the leaders of so many religious movements aren’t willing to stand behind that ideology.
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Grade: 50/50
Professor Comments: None
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