Why Christians Are Agains Global Warming
Why many evangelicals believe climatic change is a hoax
A scan of the planet from 2013 every bit role of a study looking at rising temperatures. Photograph courtesy of NASA.
NEW YORK — Millions effectually the world walked out of their workplaces and classrooms recently to join the global climate strike. The movement, which has gained much support in the past few weeks, was meant to encourage political representatives to action regarding environmentally-friendly policies.
Spearheading this global move has been Greta Thunberg, a 16-twelvemonth-old from Sweden. The teen has been protesting in her domicile country since last year. Since then, she's risen to international fame. Thunberg has been on the cover of several magazines and served as 1 of the primary figureheads of these global protests. She's received nearly unanimous support — but not from those who believe climate alter is a hoax. Among them: some evangelical Christians.
Pastor Robert Jeffress, a member of Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board, appeared on Fox News to discuss the move.
"Somebody needs to read poor Greta Genesis, Affiliate 9 and tell her the next time she worries about global warming, merely await at a rainbow. That's God's hope that the polar ice caps aren't going to melt and flood the world again," he said in response to the Sept. 20 protests.
Many evangelical Christians, polls show, agree with Jeffress in assertive God'due south the one who has the whole world in his hands. Others who also oppose the possibility of climate change are convinced information technology is a hoax — and it's not e'er connected to religion.
How many evangelicals believe climate change is a hoax?
In 2015, Pew Research asked American adults, of varying religious organized religion traditions, their view on climate change. They were divided into four groups: those who believe climatic change is acquired by human being activity, those who believe it's being caused past natural miracle, those who believe in that location's no solid evidence the Earth is getting warmer, and those who aren't sure.
Of white evangelicals surveyed, 37 percent said they believe there's no solid evidence the planet is getting warmer — this is higher than all other religious groups polled.
Additionally, merely 28 percentage believe climate change is caused past homo action — a lower number than all other groups surveyed. Past comparing, Catholics who are Hispanic, at 77 percentage, say the World is warming due to human activity. Overall, 50 pct of U.S. adults, on average, said they believe the human activity causes climate alter. Another 25 percent believe in that location's no solid prove.
Why do evangelicals tend to deny climatic change?
The reason, rather than being fully religious, has more to do with politics. The seemingly unbreakable bond between evangelicals and political conservatism tin exist traced back to the Moral Majority — founded by the late Jerry Falwell — during the Reagan years of the 1980s, which encouraged Christians to abet for more than traditional values in politics.
At the offset, these values included opposing gay rights, ballgame and the teaching of development in schools. As many of the leaders of this movement tended to be members of the conservative correct, a link was formed betwixt those who are theologically and politically bourgeois — whether or not these two ideologies e'er marshal within the individual. Rather than only focusing on a few issues, beingness an evangelical Christian now nearly seems to require being politically bourgeois, too. That includes in bug such every bit climatic change during the Trump years.
Robin Veldman, author of a new volume, The Gospel of Climate Skepticism: Why Evangelical Christians Oppose Action on Climatic change, explored this topic in depth.
"Part of being a function of the evangelical customs is showing that you continue good theologically bourgeois company," he told Newsweek, "and environmentalism is associated with being liberal."
These ideologies explicate function of the reason why evangelicals are one of the largest identifiable groups who oppose the climatic change movement. Merely while they may be the loudest vocalization, evangelicals aren't united in proving climate change is a hoax.
The Immature Evangelicals for Climate Change are one evangelical group that believes they take a role in encouraging policies that preserve the surroundings. As the group says in their mission statement: "We commit ourselves to living faithfully as skilful stewards of creation, advocating on behalf of the poor and marginalized, supporting our faith and political leaders when they stand up for climate activity, and mobilizing our generation to join in."
Jillian Cheney is a student at The King'south Higher in New York Metropolis. She is currently the editor of EST Magazine, a student-run campus publication, and president of the school's student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Source: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2019/9/27/climate-change-and-evangelicals-why-do-so-many-of-them-believe-its-a-hoax