Ethics and public perception of climate change: exploring the Christian voices in the US public debate
Over the past few years, the issue of climate change has received an increasing amount of attention within religious communities in the United States and in the rest of the world. Recent initiatives have attracted considerable attention in the media. Calls to politics to take more notice of the issue originate from a multitude of religious movements. In the United States, Christian groups play a prominent role. Some Christian opposition to these initiatives exists as well. Several US groups have organized counter-initiatives, criticizing religiously inspired advocacy of strict climate policy. Within the diverse body of opinions and arguments that various Christian (and Jewish) groups put forth, three narratives (‘religious discourses’) can be discerned: ‘conservational stewardship’, ‘developmental stewardship’, and ‘developmental preservation’. Each of these discourses presents a consistent storyline, using similar concepts, images and motives, but holding different interpretations of these.
Abstract
Climate change raises many questions with strong moral and ethical dimensions that are important to address in climate-policy formation and international negotiations. Particularly in the United States, the public discussion of these dimensions is strongly influenced by religious groups and leaders. Over the past few years, many religious groups have taken positions on climate change, highlighting its ethical dimensions. This paper aims to explore these ethical dimensions in the US public debate in relation to public support for climate policies. It analyzes in particular the Christian voices in the US public debate on climate change by typifying the various discourses. Three narratives emerge from this analysis: ‘conservational stewardship’ (conserving the ‘garden of God’ as it was created), ‘developmental stewardship’ (turning the wilderness into a garden as it should become) and ‘developmental preservation’ (God's creation is good and changing; progress and preservation should be combined). The different narratives address fundamental ethical questions, dealing with stewardship and social justice, and they provide proxies for public perception of climate change in the US. Policy strategies that pay careful attention to the effects of climate change and climate policy on the poor – in developing nations and the US itself – may find support among the US population. Religious framings of climate change resonate with the electorates of both progressive and conservative politicians and could serve as bridging devices for bipartisan climate-policy initiatives.
Authors
Specifications
- Publication title
- Ethics and public perception of climate change: exploring the Christian voices in the US public debate
- Publication date
- 5 October 2009
- Publication type
- Publication
- Magazine
- Global Environ Change 2009; 19(4):512-21
- Product number
- 92402