Is Environmentalism a Religion?
Photo by William Farlow on Unsplash
Modern environmentalism can be a little scary. First you have the doomsday people, telling us how Global Warming (or Climate Change) is going to destroy humanity and all of nature with us. Then you have the passionate activists setting fire to SUVs, throwing paint on people wearing fur, and trying to run into giant boats out on the high seas to save the whales. And, perhaps most fearsome of all, there are the tree-hugging hippies, doing yoga, drinking herbal tea, and raving about how they commune with the spirits of trees and mushrooms.
What in the world is a Christian to make of all this? Is Christianity compatible with the environmentalism movement? The late Michael Crichton, bestselling author of science fiction books like Jurassic Park and Congo, did not claim to be a Christian as far as I am aware. But he did have some fascinating things to say about Environmentalism:
"Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban Atheists. Why do I say it's a religion? Well, just look at the beliefs. If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.
There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe."
-Michael Crichton (to the Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, Sept. 15, 2003)
A Wonderful World
Environmentalism isn’t necessarily a religion, but many people essentially use it as a replacement for religion as they seek for meaning in their lives. Why is there such a temptation to make a religion of Environmentalism? I can think of two reasons. The first is simply wonder and awe. The universe is so vast, our world so full of life and variety, and nature's systems so complex and beautiful, that one can easily be tempted to worship all of this. Try climbing a mountain to look out over mist-shrouded valleys and not be breathless. Try to observe the incredible unseen world through a microscope and not be in awe. Try to imagine the endless expanse of galaxies and not feel small and insignificant. Our natural response to the universe is awe, and feelings this intense can turn to worship.
But, of course, if there is a God powerful enough, intelligent enough, and creative enough to have created the whole universe with just a few words, He would be the one worthy of our worship. And that is just how Christians see it. We too marvel at the world with wonder at all that our senses and the tools of science reveal to us. But as soon as one comes to believe that all this is the creative expression of a loving God, our impulse to worship leads naturally to the creator, and the creation becomes a means for knowing more about Him.
The Impulse to Worship
The second reason that environmentalism makes a tempting religion is less flattering to us. As C. S. Lewis observed in Mere Christianity, people have an innate urge to believe in something beyond themselves, that they are part of a larger story, and that there is more to existence than our little lives, seemingly insignificant in the vast and timeless workings of the universe. We want the comfort of feeling we are not alone, and we want to feel connected with other people who believe what we do. On the other hand, we fear being constrained by the expectations of a personal God. If someone made us, then our creator can make certain claims on us, and we have a responsibility to our maker. We might feel compelled to live according to His plans for us. This is deeply offensive to our pride and sense of self-autonomy.
It is much more convenient to believe in an impersonal force, like Mother Nature, than a personal God. We can have the comfort of believing we are not alone and that we might have a greater purpose, without responsibility to a creator and without having to give up our prideful assumption that we are ultimately in control. But for those of us who care about the truth, the question is not which belief is most convenient or feels best, but how we can live correctly in response to reality.
"One reason why many people find Creative Evolution so attractive is that it gives one much of the emotional comfort of believing in God and none of the less pleasant consequences. When you are feeling fit and the sun is shining and you do not want to believe that the whole universe is a mere mechanical dance of atoms, it is nice to be able to think of this great mysterious Force rolling on through the centuries and carrying you on its crest. If, on the other hand, you want to do something rather shabby, the Life-Force, being only a blind force, with no morals and no mind, will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children. The Life-Force is a sort of tame God. You can switch it on when you want, but it will not bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost. Is the Life-Force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen?"
-C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, "What Lies Behind the Law"
I should add that while there are plenty of people who hold a casual or purely emotional faith in environmentalism, there are fundamentalists in this religion also. Joel Garreau penned a fascinating article for The New Atlantis ("Environmentalism as Religion" Summer 2010), where he explains that today there is "carbon fundamentalism.” This is the temptation of those with a religiously environmental outlook to demonize those with whom they disagree, using scientific authority as a blunt weapon to force cultural changes.
A Christian View
According to the Bible, God made the whole universe and called it good (Genesis 1:31). He loves His creation, and has made mankind its stewards, to treat it with love and care.
“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
Genesis 1:27-28
Humans, as the creatures made in the image of God, bear responsibility for taking care of God’s creation. We call this stewardship or husbandry. It means that we’re supposed to use the resources of Earth to benefit mankind, to increase our domain and our creative output. But it also means that we must use wisdom and restraint, because we have responsibilities as caretakers of the environment.
We have a responsibility, first of all, to God. It’s like a mother who gives her daughter a precious heirloom necklace; the mother would probably be glad if the child used the necklace and didn’t keep it locked away, but she would be hurt and disappointed if the daughter broke, lost, or gave away the heirloom. God has entrusted the resources of the Earth to us. We have a right to use them, but we must be wise and not use them foolishly. Our first responsibility is to our Father God to protect what is valuable to Him.
Justice
Our second and third responsibilities are to justice. We are responsible on the one hand to the poor people of the world, who have the fewest resources to deal with environmental problems. The richest countries use the majority of the Earth’s resources and often find ways to pass on the downsides (deforestation, pollution, etc.) to the poorest. That is unjust, and it is not the way Jesus commanded us to look after the poor.
The third responsibility is to justice for future generations, who will have to live with the consequences of our decisions. Should we leave our children and grandchildren with depleted resources? With pollution? With decimated land and extinct species? Justice demands that we consider future generations when we make decisions that affect the planet they will live on.
The Second Coming
Christians have often been criticized (sometimes justly) with the accusation that our hope for Jesus’s return has dulled our concern for stewardship over the Earth. Many Christians think that Jesus will come back before things get too bad, so we might as well enjoy the fruits of environmental exploitation now. But this doesn’t reflect the attitude that Jesus modeled for us. He took great care to heal and help people’s physical circumstances, not just their spiritual, and He cared about their earthly well-being. It wasn’t just about future hope for Him, but mercy and care in the present life.
Those principles must guide us, along with the understanding that no matter what doomsday preachers say, we do not know when Jesus is returning. For 2,000 years or so, people have believed His return to be imminent. One generation, after all, will be right, but we don't know if it will be us. We have to hope and pray every day for Jesus to return and redeem all things, but work as though the Earth will go on for another 2,000 years.
Caution and Hope
So human beings have a special responsibility to be the directors of the zoo, managers of the farm, rangers of the forest, etc. The record shows that we don't always do a very good job. We have made species endangered and extinct; polluted air, water, and earth; dumped trash in the ocean; and destroyed habitats. Because of satellites and space programs, we even have garbage hurtling across the sky above our heads. People, as a result of the Fall, sometimes make poor and selfish decisions when it comes to the environment.
But, because we were made in the image of God and there is Common Grace, we get a lot of things right, too. There are many people and organizations that are taking responsibility for the Earth and its inhabitants, from international societies to local volunteer clubs that clean up roadways and beaches. People are working together to care for the Earth.
And consider how technology is helping. Recycling and reuse are rising. We have low-watt light bulbs, high-efficiency appliances, hybrid cars, and other new ways of cleaning up our past mistakes and avoiding new ones. Because of incredibly innovative and hard-working men and women, we are gradually finding ways to undo or minimize the damage humans wreck on the natural world. We can't give the credit to the technology; it is a neutral thing tool serves its masters. The credit goes to the people who take the time to think and care about what we do to the planet we call home.
A Role for Christians
We are living at a moment of historic opportunity for Christians: We can choose to take a greater role in the stewardship of the Earth, combating the mistaken beliefs of religious environmentalism with a solid, orthodox understanding of our place as caretakers of God's beloved creation. People care about the planet. Christians have the ability to share in that concern because we are part of the creation, too, and God cares what we do with the stuff He gives us.
Because many Christians run from the religious aspects of environmentalism, and because they misunderstand their role as stewards or overestimate their ability to predict Jesus's return, they have been too quiet on the issue of Earth stewardship. But the proper answer to falsehood is not silence; the answer is truth, and Christians believe we have it.
We must learn and teach others a clear, biblical understanding of what it means to be fruitful and multiply while taking good care of the planet. That way we can show gratitude to our maker, and work for justice for the world's poor and for the next generation. In His infinite wisdom, God has seen fit to give us some control over the health of the incredible planet we inhabit. We have the freedom to make Him pleased with us or to make more mistakes. Let's worship God through good stewardship, giving thanks for the incredible gift of Earth.