Christians should take more interest in environmentalism

Caroline Lozano/ Assistant Opinion Director

Growing up Catholic, I was always taught by my family members and spiritual teachers that protecting the environment is important because it serves as a way of honoring God’s creation and the many blessings it provides for humanity, such as life-sustaining water and nourishment from plants and animals.

And for awhile, I thought all Christians had these same beliefs.

Despite a 2015 encyclical letter written by Pope Francis concerning environmental issues and efforts made by Protestant groups, however, a lack of enthusiasm for environmentalism continues to exist among Christians, regardless of denomination and religiosity.

In fact, a recent 20 year analysis of survey results from Gallup public opinion polls showed that apart from the fact that interest in environmentalism is not increasing, “there are signs it is actually in decline,” according to Futurity.

It’s embarrassing to hear that environmental issues often go unnoticed or are frowned upon among fellow Christians, even with the amount of research and evidence pointing to its importance.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a few misconceptions regarding environmentalism that Christians refuse to let go of.

For instance, environmentalists have usually been associated with the stereotypical “liberal, tree-hugging hippy” and Christians, generally well-known for being conservative and traditional, prefer to avoid being labeled as such.

On top of this, environmentalism is often linked with the theory of evolution something that Christians, even today, have not always been so quick to accept since many pro-evolution scientists have also been environmentalists, causing further alienation from Christians.

Because of the slogans about Mother Earth used to promote the environmental movement, some Christians even believe environmentalism is becoming its own religion, complete with its own deity (Mother Earth), theology (man destroyed earth; man must die to restore planet), and “leaders,” such as Al Gore. It’s viewed as an idolatrous and false religion built upon Darwinian concepts, and these ideas contribute to this lack of enthusiasm with environmental issues.

While some Christians do practice and believe in the importance of stewardship (our responsibility to care for God’s creation) others hold the surprising and arrogant belief that humans have dominion over the Earth and have no obligation to protect it.

It’s a toxic way of thinking, and I’m sure these same individuals clean their houses and care for their personal hygiene (I hope). If so, why is our planet not given the same amount of care?

Christians need to stop worrying about the associations environmentalism has had in the past and in current times and make more of an effort to educate themselves.

Whether or not environmentalism is tied to non-Christian concepts or ideology doesn’t change the fact that not enough conversation is being generated over our planet and its other inhabitants.

Environmentalism isn’t about political parties or scandalous new religions. It’s about bringing to light the issues of climate change, poaching, endangered animals and the rampant deforestation that’s contributing to habitat loss for wildlife.

The Earth is our home what was provided to us by our Creator and issues pertaining to its conservation needs to become a more prominent part of the Christian mission.

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Unsplash.

About the Author

Caroline Lozano
Caroline Lozano is a senior pursuing a Bachelor's degree in English. She enjoys writing, reading, traveling, listening to music (especially The Beatles), attending cons, and watching movies/shows on Netflix. One of her goals is to become an accomplished writer of novels and short stories. Caroline is also fluent in Spanish.

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