"Creation Care" - A Growing Movement
by Greg Haegele, Sierra Club on 07. 3.08
It is a common misconception that communities of faith and environmentalists have little in common. In the United States today, 67% of Americans say they care about the environment because it is "God's creation" - and close to half of our members say they attend worship services at least once a month. Most of the world's major religions have long-standing traditions and teachings that inform how humans should interact with the natural world.
So make no mistake - "creation care" is certainly a growing movement. In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges like global warming, people from all walks of life are coming together to make a difference.
We recently released our "Faith in Action" report, which highlights one exceptional faith-based environmental initiative from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The report illustrates the growing momentum of the "creation care" movement.
Lyndsay Moseley, of the Sierra Club's Environmental Partnerships Program, said these initiatives are worth recognizing. "We are inspired by the faith community's leadership in working to protect the planet, and this report is our way of saying 'thank you' to the many people of faith working on creation care initiatives across the country."
Moseley added that she hopes the many successful initiatives encourage others to take action.
The national faith appreciation report is a project of the Sierra Club's Environmental Partnerships Program, which works actively with faith groups around the United States to broaden support for environmental protection.
While there are 52 stories in this report, I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites:
-Wisconsin - The Islamic Environmental Group of Wisconsin is engaged in helping mosques and Muslim families reduce their carbon footprint.
-Louisiana - The Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church in East New Orleans is fighting hazardous waste landfills opened hastily in their neighborhood after Hurricane Katrina.
-Nebraska - An Omaha United Methodist Church is helping to start urban gardens around the city so that impoverished neighborhoods have access to locally-grown vegetables.
-New York - A Jewish environmental organization, "Hazon," organizes community bike rides and educates about sustainable living in New York City.
Those are only my favorites, but every single initiative in the "Faith in Action" report is a great story about faith communities joining together to make a difference for the planet. The Sierra Club is deeply grateful to these religious communities and the many others who are bringing renewed interest, energy, and unique perspectives to the environmental conversation while also taking the lead on finding solutions to our environmental challenges.
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Not too surprising, considering that much of the past's environmental movements (prior to the major one in 1970) was spear-headed by religiously minded people. Working - as I do - with people doing environmental research, it is good to know that slowly-but-surely religious groups (especially Christian ones) are moving away from an apocalypse-cult mentality to an Earth-stewardship one. (Of course, this has the possible future problem of a split from science-minded environmentalists based on assurance based on faith vs. assurance based on science for what needs be done to protect systems large and small.)
God = Cosmos
If we believe in God, we believe in His creation, including the biodiversity.
This is a great topic. Very near to my heart. I attended a Southern Baptist university, and last fall I did a very in depth presentation for our faculty and administration on why we as conservative Christians need to get involved in Creation care and stewardship. Somewhere along the way, conservatives have forgotten to actually "conserve" anything at all. It is great the environmentalism is growing within the church. If we miss the boat here then we will be behind the times and unable to reach many in the world as the gap grows between our words and our action when it comes to the environment.
This is good news. However I would remind that part of the environmental devastation was possible because the Bible authorized human beings to use nature and the planet for their own sake, as the priviliged species made similar to God. How much this has been applied is under everybody's eyes. Not to forget that the roots of technology and the industrial society can be traced to Christianity.
This is good news. However I would remind that part of the environmental devastation was possible because the Bible authorized human beings to use nature and the planet for their own sake, as the priviliged species made similar to God. How much this has been applied is under everybody's eyes. Not to forget that the roots of technology and the industrial society can be traced to Christianity.
I just returned from an extended trip to South Florida, where I attended the annual General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Among other business, GA selects a social justice issue for congregational study and action for the next few years. The issue selected for 2008-2012 was "Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice". This focus rests on our common principles, which acknowledge "the interdependent web of existence" and affirm the importance of human rights. Some of your readers have have enjoyed Equal Exchange coffee, which is the result of a wide-ranging interfaith effort, including the Society of Friends (Quakers), the Church of the Brethren, Mennonites, the United Church of Christ and several other denominations. There's great work going on in the faith community, and more to come!
Brad Barron...Excellent work and words.
I am personally one of those existential, secular humanists who resides smack dab here in the middle of the "buckle of the Bible Belt" (Nashville, TN). Other than spending a little time in the Bay Area for elementary school as a child, I was born here and have lived here most of my life.
I am personally so satisfied and encouraged that my fellow citizens of faith are finally feeling comfortable enough to embrace the call to be stewards of God's creation. I've said this for years, that when the day comes where the messages of conservation, sustainability and environmental awareness are spoken from the pulpit on Wednesdays and Sundays in America, we would begin to see real progress on the causes on which so many of us in the "secular world" have worked so hard for for years.
The Creation Care Movement is quite literally a blessing to witness. I am a religious moderate who has been a member of Methodist and Presbyterian churches. I first became interested in environmental and renewable energy issues a little over 30 years ago when a college roommate introduced me to these issues. Back then, most environmental enthusiasts were leftists and any congregations that would have embraced such issues would have been those like the Unitarian Universalists or maybe the United Church of Christ, liberal Jewish congregations, liberals of other faiths, secularists ranging from atheists and agnostics to humanists, and people who worshipped God independently. While I’m glad that these groups were there embracing these causes, it is refreshing to see people of all stripes including conservative evangelicals embracing this issue. I disagree with the conservatives often, but there is definitely a wide swath of common ground on ecological issues. I definitely believe that God expects stewardship in return for giving us dominion over other species.
just don't "go forth and multiply"
I'm am one of those faith-minded environmentalist. Or at least I'm attempting to be. It's nice to know that I'm not as in the minority as I thought. I do however, slightly resent the accusation/implication made by other posters that Christianity is the root of all our environmental problems. I'd sooner say it is humanity as a collective. People of many faiths and cultures have contributed to the problem. I think it's time to start fixing, not blaming.
Quey,
Respectfully, it only seems that one poster in this thread, IVO, did as you claim. All the other comments are overwhelmingly positive about the Creation Care movement. I agree with you, it is certainly time to start fixing and not blaming. However, it's also a good time to check the persecution and martyr complexes as well. Instead of focusing on one commenter who had some negative comments regarding Christians, how about being encouraged by all the other positive comments and outreach from all the others posting.
All the best.