It is now obvious that no single person, or even one country, will be able to make any significant headway against climate change. There is an urgent need for coordinated action amongst local authorities, business, government, and society. Children, cities, indigenous peoples, and local communities are all mentioned in the most recent COP27 decision. But, the function of religion or faith is conspicuously absent.
Around 84% of people worldwide identify as practicing a religion, and that number is projected to increase to 87% by 2050. Our research demonstrates the potential for faith to inspire social and environmental change, despite the fact that it is frequently excluded from discussions about sustainability.
Religion can significantly and favorably affect how people behave in relation to the environment. Liturgies and spiritual activities are being created to aid Christians in fusing their spirituality with environmental concerns.
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The comprehensive Caring for our Common Home by Pope Francis and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Zen and the Art of Saving the Earth are two important books. Both draw attention to how religious principles can help solve environmental problems and instruct people on how to live responsibly.
Investments that support the environment can be motivated by faith. FaithInvest is a group that supports religious organizations in making ethical and sustainable use of their financial resources. Also, religious organizations can plan coordinated global climate action. Faith leaders from all across the world published a letter prior to COP27 asking for the cessation of new fossil fuel projects.
The same forces may and have, of course, been employed to stymie climate change action, and formal institutional commitment does not always translate into individual action. Our research explains how religious belief can motivate people to take environmental action.
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Faith and the planet
We were interested in learning how Christians in the UK were changing personally and practically in the direction of sustainability. We looked at comments to Ruth Valerio’s Saying Yes to Life, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2020 Lenten book. The book offered religious viewpoints on the significance of protecting the environment, concentrating on problems including water shortage, air pollution, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and energy consumption.
Prior to and following their interaction with the text, we surveyed 133 individuals from a variety of age groups and church backgrounds and held focus groups. We discovered that this intervention had a considerable impact on participants’ environmental beliefs and actions.
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Following their interaction with the literature, readers’ views toward the environment improved. Most people reported at least a temporary boost in environmentally friendly behaviors, notably with regard to recycling, food choices, and energy consumption.
Participants’ environmental opinions were also influenced by how environmental issues were framed in theological terms. They claimed to have developed a reverence for nature, a stronger sense of connection to the environment, and a conviction that people should take care of the environment.
When a person’s faith is put into action, there are three actions they must do. The first phase is disclosing, in which the individual is made aware of the nature of environmental issues and ingrained theological notions (such as the notion that humans have a divine right to rule over the environment). This was accomplished by our participants through careful reading of the scripture and conversation with other Christians.
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Reflection is the next phase. Then people think about how their own beliefs and practices might need to be revised in light of fresh theological insights or scientific knowledge.
The ultimate stage is determined by the level of prior environmental commitment. The process of redirecting describes a process of internal (cognitive or spiritual) and exterior (behavioural) change for those whose lives are incompatible with the new information. The phase of reinforcing entails further solidifying these commitments for people who currently lead pro-environmental lifestyles.
Tackling the environmental crisis
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Economic concepts like the triple bottom line (which encourages businesses to consider profit, people, and the environment), natural capital, and green investment are currently used to frame discussions concerning the environment. People may be motivated to consider ecology in terms of justice, sacred obligation, compassion, empathy, and kindness by moral and spiritual arguments.
Another crucial role of religion is to provide a community of believers who can encourage, support, and maintain environmental action. Many participants talked about how knowing they were a part of a broader community of Christian believers fighting for change gave them hope and resolve.
Bypassing political differences and cultural allegiances that have inhibited action may be possible by appealing to worldviews based on religion. In fact, individuals in this study who self-identified as politically conservative showed the most swings toward environmental concern.
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For many people, faith is the cornerstone of their worldview. Our study demonstrates that religion presents a significant opportunity to motivate environmental action. But, both sides still need to put in some work. Environmental issues may be more incorporated into spiritual teaching and practice by religious leaders, and scientists and policymakers could interact with religious people more frequently.
Sustainability must permeate every institution and cultural setting if humanity is to prevent a global environmental catastrophe. Religion is no different.
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