The question “Is Global Warming Real?” lay at the heart of a contentious debate that has raged for decades, pitting scientists and environmentalists against skeptics and industry interests. Global warming is, of course, the natural process of a gradual increase in the average Earth’s temperature, brought on by the increased release of carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere. In the past few years, the scientific consensus on global warming has been nearly unanimous. In a report released in 2017, over 97% of surveyed climate experts agreed that the Earth was irrefutably warming as a result of human disturbance to its atmosphere.
So what do Christian perspectives have to say about global warming? As global warming is an environmental concern, approaches range from complete acceptance of the scientific evidence to outright denial. There is no single Christian denomination or world view, nor is there one official answer for how Christians should interpret global warming. However, it’s possible to gain insight by examining the official statements and opinions offered by major Christian organizations.
One frontrunner in the global warming discussion is Pope Francis, who in 2015 released an unprecedented Encyclical on the Environment (Laudato Si) calling on all people of faith to understand and support the urgent moral imperative of taking action against global warming. At the conference, he echoed the scientific consensus on global warming, asking all people of faith to join him in actively promoting sustainable development, renewable energy sources, and other measures to reduce global warming.
The Catholic Church is not the only Christian denomination that has recognized the severity of global warming and its potentially catastrophic effects. Numerous other denominations and global organizations, such as the World Evangelical Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals, have since released statements affirming the scientifically established global warming threat and the need for collective action to counter it.
Despite this global consensus among major Christian groups, there are some individual theologians, pastors, and religious leaders who have continued to reject the overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change. Many of these individuals draw on the Christian concept of Creation Care, which suggests that human beings have been put in charge of the planet as God’s caretakers and that it is our responsibility to seek a sustainable balance between the Earth’s resources and human consumption. There is, however, a fine line between responsible stewardship of the Earth’s resources and irresponsible development, and a number of Christian thinkers have warned against attempting to deny scientific facts in order to justify destructive human activities.
Regardless of individual opinion, the undeniable truth is that global warming is a very real threat to our planet and must be urgently addressed by people of all faiths as well as governments and other global entities. To this end, many leading Christian organizations have committed themselves to advocating for action to protect the planet, from the UK’s Christian Climate Action to the Global Catholic Climate Movement. Such organizations are working to raise awareness among the faithful, petition for governmental action, and promote sustainable practices all over the world.
It is clear, then, that global warming is very real, and that it requires urgent attention from every corner of the global community. Christians have a moral duty to recognize the threat of global warming and take up their part to join the fight against it. This is not simply a call to action – it is an obligation to respect and protect the natural world, something of great importance to all major faiths including Christianity.
