Photograph by Sebastian Mast / Connected Archives
WORDS BY REBECCA RANDALL
To make way for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, project planners have evicted 2,000 families from their homes so far, said Meryne Warah, the global organizing and campaigns director for the multi-faith climate justice organization GreenFaith. The pipeline, which begins at the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, would carry oil from new fields in Uganda. If it’s completed, it will be the longest heated pipeline in the world and emit 34 million tons of carbon each year.
Warah, a Seventh-day Adventist who is based in Nairobi, Kenya, feels convicted to elevate the voices of those who will suffer the most and are not often heard. “What centers me more than anything is my faith. It’s not just a job. I feel like it’s my duty. We are people guided by their religious teachings while calling for climate justice,” said Warah.
GreenFaith is mobilizing against the pipeline by unifying local faith leaders from the affected communities and amplifying their dissent. Still, even with a strong coalition, GreenFaith’s grassroots faith leaders face safety risks. One pastor was threatened and struck by a moving vehicle.
They face reluctance from higher-faith leaders, too. Around the world, climate change elicits a spectrum of responses from religious leaders. Some are dismissive of science or reluctant to participate in political action while others are actively engaged. Further, leadership from different denominations may also encourage different actions. According to a Pew study, for example, while evangelicals and Black protestants are equally likely to take personal actions to protect the environment, like reducing food waste and water use, Black Protestants are twice as likely to take civic action to address climate change, such as contacting elected officials or attending a protest.
Jose Aguto, who leads the Catholic Climate Covenant in the United States, walks a fine line with the U.S. bishops, not all of whom prioritize climate change. Only 35 dioceses out of 194 are supported by the organization’s guidance on living out Laudato Si, the pope’s 2015 climate letter. “We know the overarching tenor of the church is not enthusiastic about these issues, so we find our allies where they are, recognizing we’re working with a minority of bishops in our nation,” he said. Still, Pope Francis’ recent letter this fall “puts a lot of wind in our sails.”
When religious leaders do speak for a suffering Earth and its most vulnerable humans, it carries weight. In October, the pope’s Laudate Deum expressed frustration at the lack of movement to climate solutions. Eight years after Laudato Si, Pope Francis called out those responsible for not doing enough and being dismissive of climate science, including fossil fuel companies as well as those in the church.
“When faith leaders come alongside [climate activists], it changes the texture of the conversation,” said Warah. Clergy offer a moral and ethical lens needed in climate action and can often influence political leaders more than an average citizen. “In Africa, we revere our faith leaders. They command a lot of respect,” she said.
“When faith leaders come alongside [climate activists], it changes the texture of the conversation.”
Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest who leads GreenFaith, said the pope’s message is strong both theologically and ecologically, yet, sadly, it’s an exception for religious leaders. Even those who purport to care about climate change may only speak up “once or twice a year to check a box or it’s not adequately sophisticated,” he said. Harper wants more ambitious actions that change the global political and economic structures causing climate change, not just support for individual actions. “We think that religion has a powerful cultural influence that impacts politics and economics. We believe that religious communities need to be vigorously involved in these spheres aligned with their values,” Harper said.
The influence of religious communities is too big to ignore and can be amplified in the coming years. About 31% of the global population and 63% of U.S. Americans identify with Christianity—the largest global religious group. Globally, 84% of people identify with a religious group.
For those Christians who are engaged in climate action, some pull their own constituencies into the conversation, while others join inter-religious and mainstream movements. Just this month at COP28 in Dubai, Christians joined a multi-faith movement in the first-ever Faith Pavilion. Christian climate activists carry with them the word of their scripture, which motivates their local and individual actions as well as transnational coalitions to reimagine a cleaner, safer planet.
In the U.S. many Christian groups own buildings, land, schools, hospitals, and community centers. Many already see it as their responsibility to steward these material assets well. It’s an extension of their faith to love their neighbor. Now, more and more are approaching it through a climate lens.
Aguto said he feels there’s been a shift from a learning posture into action mode. The Catholic Climate Covenant, for example, connects a network of parish “creation care” teams” that do everything from starting recycling programs, reducing use of disposable dishes, donating garden produce to food pantries, and managing sustainable landscaping.
Churches are decarbonizing their energy infrastructure, too. Houses of worship host a solar array at three times the rate of other non-residential buildings, according to a spring report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. And these local actions add up. According to Uwe Brandes, a sustainable development scholar at Georgetown University, religious institutions own and manage about six times the number of buildings in New York City and land holdings equal in size to the country of Mexico. He reported the findings at the COP28 Faith Pavilion.
At times, there are obstacles for churches to mitigate energy use. “Unfortunately, BIPOC communities tend to be left out of the conversation and left behind,” said Robin Lewis, director for climate equity at Interfaith Power and Light’s regional affiliate in Washington D.C. Lewis works primarily with Black churches, helping them to navigate the policy and market landscape to finance solar projects.
Though hurdles still exist, a major one was lowered by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides direct payments to nonprofits, including houses of worship, for clean energy projects. When barriers are removed, Black churches can be key solar hubs for the community. Through Green the Church, an organization working with Black faith and the environmental movement, one church in Hayward, California plans to retrofit its five buildings, which offer various public services, to include solar and electric vehicle charging stations.
Local churches are also expanding the role that faith-based organizations play in disaster response in the U.S. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, churches began forming “community lighthouses,” which will include solar and energy storage in case of a power outage and volunteers to identify who in the community may need immediate attention. These community efforts apply the “love thy neighbor” commandment to the climate impacts we face in the coming years.
Some Christians see individual actions as only one side of the coin. The other involves something the church should be good at if it’s following the example of Jesus: speaking truth to power. Harper sees a role for faith in direct public actions that change business as usual into something new that protects the Earth and creates a just society.
Faith groups have stood up to moneymakers for years. The Global Divestment Database, which tracks the institutions that commit to withdrawing financing from fossil fuel companies, reports that faith-based organizations are the most common type of group to divest. Just this November on All Saints Day, GreenFaith movement moms wheeled strollers to the front of Bank of America’s headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., imploring them to divest from fossil fuels for the next generation.
Resistance is a strategy, and in resisting, we find hope in solidarity.
Meanwhile, Christians’ key role in engaging politically conservative politicians cannot be understated. In 2022, Sen. Joe Manchin III, a Democrat (and a Catholic) from the red state of West Virginia, faltered in his support of the Inflation Reduction Act. Jessica Moerman, a pastor and scientist who directs the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), said that evangelicals were among those working to bring him back to the table for a tie-breaking vote. That’s just one of EEN’s many efforts, which also include advocating for the Farm Bill and against pollution from fossil fuel extraction.
“EEN is one of the most important voices for making climate a nonpartisan issue and garnering support among conservatives, moderates, and independents for climate action,” said Moerman. “That’s because we talk about it in a way that is out of a partisan political space and is rooted in our faith, our Scriptures, and how this enhances our mission for loving God and loving neighbor.”
Regardless of how Christians show up in climate action, faith groups recognize the importance of meaningful work, helping people first answer bigger questions about how humans relate to one another, to the Earth, and the Creator, said Moerman, who helps evangelicals wrestle with these big questions. When people connect those dots and make conclusions about what is then required of them, it leads to a deep conviction and spiritual resolve to follow a calling.
Many conclude that climate action “enhances our mission for loving God and loving neighbor,” said Moerman. She recalled a farmer involved with EEN who practices sustainable agriculture as an outpouring of his faith.
Yet, in a changing U.S. religious landscape, Harper has his eye on two specific demographics for which faith can be an entry point for climate action. Religious folks who are moderate and politically inactive, and “church alumni” who are still searching for meaning despite their disenfranchisement from organized religion.
Given the growing concern about climate change, especially among younger generations, Fletcher thinks people in these two groups could benefit spiritually and mentally from climate action that “energizes and evokes their moral passion.”
Harper added that talking about climate through faith can combat anxiety. Religion can provide rituals: spaces to name concerns alongside like-minded people and to hear ancient words from scriptures about how people responded in dark times.
If they’re looking for hope, however, religion isn’t an “easy mental pain killer,” Harper said. “To me the answer is that hope is no strategy. Resistance is a strategy, and in resisting, we find hope in solidarity. If you want hope, get active. It’s a byproduct of activity. It’s not something in and of itself.”
Environmental Protection in the Name of God
