7: Religion, Ethics, and Climate Change

Overview

Humans are currently immersed in a global environmental crisis that has various manifestations, such as climate change, deterioration of ecosystems, massive loss of species, and pollution of air, water, and soil. The effects of this crisis on human health and planetary well-being are increasingly evident, but the moral response to it has been muted.

Until recently, degrading nature for human use—clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, depleting fisheries—was not considered a critical ethical issue. For many economists, for example, polluting the atmosphere, soil, or waters was simply an external consequence of industrialization and the necessary cost of economic growth. But now our industrializing powers and economic systems are disrupting the carbon cycle and causing the entire planet’s climate to change.

Several questions come to mind: Is climate change not a moral challenge? Who will suffer most from the effects of climate change? Do we have an environmental ethics that is broad enough and inclusive enough to respond, especially to the needs of the poor? If nature is not fully valued, how can we develop a robust environmental ethics?

It may be the case that—as with the abolitionist movement in the nineteenth century and the civil rights movement in the twentieth century—we will not respond at the scale and speed required until we see climate disruption as an ethical challenge. The integration of the moral issues of ecological degradation and climate justice into social consciousness, political legislation, and international negotiations remains to be realized.

Two interrelated questions arise: Where do we begin, and what can we build on? For each part of the world the response will be different, as ethics will be based in different cultural, philosophical, and religious worldviews. For the United States, the task is far from easy, and one of the main messages regarding consumption may be dismissed or ignored. For the hard truth is that our hyperinflated lifestyle—our massive consumption of energy and goods—is having adverse effects on people and the planet, both at home and abroad. With only 4% of the world’s population, the United States consumes 25% of the world’s resources. Moral awakening, while still elusive, is critical.

It is clear that we in the United States are, and have been for some time, a source of the destruction of the environment, both its intricate ecosystems and its myriad species. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we are also increasing inequity and injustice for the poor, the vulnerable, and climate refugees who are now suffering from the devastating effects of climate change. This is true in Central America as well as in Africa and the Middle East where refugees are fleeing drought-stricken lands. Even insurance companies, such as Chubb, are recognizing the existential threat of climate change. The US Department of Defense sees it as a national security threat. We are indeed confronting the existential threat of climate change, and what to do still eludes us as the demands of intergenerational justice loom on the horizon.

In Section 7.1, this chapter will indicate the possibilities for and barriers to a new alliance between science and religions to address climate change. In Section 7.2, I will outline the academic field of religion and ecology as well as the moral force of grassroots religious environmentalism. Section 7.3 acknowledges the problems and promise of religions for tackling environmental issues. In Section 7.4, I will outline how religions contribute to a broad moral sensibility for the flourishing of life. Section 7.5 discusses Journey of the Universe, a multimedia project, including a book and a film, that aims to develop a comprehensive cosmological story for a vibrant Earth community. Finally, Section 7.6 will highlight key principles, strategies, and tactics for an ethical response to climate change.