Several weeks ago I stood beside my father and watched the sky turn black. It was three in the afternoon, great dark clouds of smoke had risen up and blinded the sun. Ash began to fall. Smoke trailed in through our windows, and the only light in the sky was the dull glow of the inferno to the south and west. This was my own personal encounter with climate change, and it terrified me. The world watched in horror over the next few weeks as the fire consumed us.
I have often wondered why we hear so little from the established Churches on climate change. It has become impossible to ignore – and yet many are still trying. It has always seemed basic common sense that, if God has created this world for us, then it is incumbent upon us to care for it. Genesis 2:15 tells us that “God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Rather straightforward, isn’t it? There are other obvious benefits. By tackling climate change, we prevent horrible famines, mass displacement of peoples, and the collapse of states – all things that turbocharge suffering. So why then do we hear so little from our churches in the face of this catastrophic, existential threat to God’s own creation?
It should be noted that many religious organisations have provided outstanding support in the wake of the Bushfires. This article seeks to focus on why Climate Change is such a rare topic within the Church, without denigrating the thousands of religious people helping the nation rebuild.
When I started researching for this little piece, I was pleasantly surprised to find myriad faith based initiatives to combat climate change. The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) – which I pronounce “aaaaahhhhhrrrrrrrrkkk” – is an interfaith network that is trying to instill change in the religious community. Their work is admirable, and hopefully will begin to gain ground. Similarly the Catholic Church has, impressively, been teaching the “Stewardship of Creation” doctrine long before Climate Change became such a prominent global movement. Pope Paul VI in 1971 warned the world that unchecked environmental damage “risks provoking a veritable ecological catastrophe.” Pope John Paul II, in 1990, was even more adamant – demanding on the subject of climate change that “the entire human community… take seriously the responsibility that is theirs.” Organisations like Catholic Earthcare Australia are the boots on the ground trying to implement this call. It was frankly a delight to read such impassioned calls to action, right from the start of this movement, from a Church that is so often maligned as ultra-conservative and backwards by my own Protestant tradition. There isn’t space to list all the many wonderful Church backed initiatives on climate change, but it’s important to acknowledge that they exist. I will try to show you why the success of these movements might prove decisive in stopping further climate change.
The question this immediately raises is why have I never heard this taught in church? Climate Change is clearly a titanic moral issues – and I believe you can make a very strong case that it’s the most pressing moral issue of them all. I think the answer lies in the gradual fusion of Christianity and Conservatism as intellectual traditions. This partnership has been the primary force driving people away from the modern church. Slowly, insidiously, Christianity has become aligned with parties that actively pursue clearly non-Biblical policies – the defunding of social welfare services, the prosecution of wars, the illegal imprisonment of refugees, and the catastrophic destruction of God’s creation. This has created a bizarre, schizophrenic pattern of voting and political action within the church. So often we have been told voting Conservative is the “Christian choice”, but upon examination it’s hard to see how that is so. It is this political alignment that has seen Climate Change carefully ignored or merely paid lip service. I am one of the millions who left the church, disgusted and disappointed by their failure to address the greatest moral issue of our time.
Of course, this doesn’t have to be the case. If Australian Churches start teaching climate action seriously, then the ripple effect down the line will be profound. It is no secret that the religious vote is the foundation of the Liberal party’s supporter base. If the scales fall from their eyes and they begin to treat climate change as a sacred, spiritual duty, then this will force change in the party they support. The best avenue for activism is not to repeatedly ram secular science at these groups – surely by now we must accept that it isn’t working. It’s to re-frame the debate in moral, spiritual terms. The Churches have to lead their flock in seeing Climate Action as a profound moral duty, a core service to God by preserving his gifts to them. If the Christian blocks can be mobilised to treat Climate Change as the existential threat it is, then we will also see profound changes in the way our governments behave. There is no reason why Christians can’t also be conservationists. Just imagine if the Churches lobbied as hard for Climate Change as they do against abortion, or for scripture in schools. What changes they could force, if they only tried!
As much as we might resent it, the Churches are still mighty forces. Collectively they have staggering resources, scores of followers, and immense political influence. The Churches finally taking climate change seriously could well be the decisive act that mollifies the accelerating collapse of our planet. Their efforts could prevent the consumption of our gorgeous ecosystems by industrialisation, dust, and ravenous fire. So too could be prevented the starvation of hundreds of millions, the displacement of more, and the total collapse of nations into anarchy.
I stood with my father and watched our heavens choke. If the Churches awaken to their duty, perhaps I will stand with my child, and count the stars instead.
Header photo: Sam Mooy/Getty Images
