Can’t We All Get Along?
67% of Americans who say they care about the environment do so because it’s “God’s creation.”
Almost 50% of Sierra Club members go to a house of worship at least once a month.
Whoa.
I hope that it’s no surprise to any readers that there is a strong faith-based environmental movement. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment – made up of Jews (COEJL), Catholics, Protestants (NCC Eco-Justice) and Evangelicals (Evangelical Environmental Network) – has been around for over 15 years. Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is an environmental initiative with over 25 state chapters. To these organizations and many of their affiliated houses of worship, connection between Earth stewardship and faith is clear.
Sierra Club has recently noticed this powerful movement and published a report: Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet, which includes the stats mentioned above. Beyond an introduction which delves into the power of faith-based action, it shares stories of 52 communities of faith – one for each state, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico – where their faith propelled them to critical ecological and sustainable action. As the report notes, the environmental movement has been secular, shying away from “values” and, dare I say it, “creation.” Never before has a study like this been done. But the environmental (and political) significance is enormous!
Though there is a clear danger in grafting “God” with “politics,” (I hope I don’t need to explain) even Sierra Club can’t ignore its wonders. 86% of the world’s population affiliates with a religion. The report notes that all the religious environmental initiatives “coalesce around a few key broadly shaped principles: stewardship, justice and concern for ‘the poor,’ and concern for one’s neighbor and future generations.” Agreement on these principles may not bring world peace. Frankly, slight variations of interpretation continue to yield devastating wars.
If we can harness the energy of religious faiths to the issues of earth stewardship, then we might just have a chance.
Some questions/comments:
-over 90% of American believe in God; this number may be significant (I don't know) in evaluating the numbers you cite above
-Europe, which has taken the lead in environmental action, is much, much less religious than America
-Clearly, a lot of religious Americans have no interest in the environment or, at least, they are voting for politicians with no interest
-Can you give a sense of the actual breakdown of religiosity and environmental action?
-Environmentalists certainly can be religious, but is there any substantial positive correlation that religious individuals or communities are more likely to be environmentalists? (Comment this)
Your figures are great and only further my point.
Already, parts of ALL religious communities are connecting their religious obligation with environmental stewardship. If this trend continues - 90% of Americans would become environmentalists, plus the (more-European-like) atheist environmentalists.
You ask for more data... this Sierra Club report is the first that addresses these questions(that I can find). Hopefully this will be the beginning of more research. (Comment this)