Towards A Theology of Climate Change

Gaia by Juke Jerram, Salisbury Cathedral

Notes from a Church of England Webinar ‘The Theology of Climate Change’ given on Tuesday 21st September 2021 by Reverend Ruth Newton.

This was an interesting webinar given by Ruth Newton, a priest and ‘Eco-Champion’ for the Diocese of Leeds and a member of the Church of England’s General Synod. She is undertaking a Doctorate in Practical Theology at the University of Chester. The lecture proposes a new approach to a theology of Climate Change that is fit for the age of the 'Anthropocene' - one not based on the concept of environmental stewardship alone but that draws on other theological resources from the Christian faith.

The Anthropocene – Climate change as a “context not an issue”.

Some scientists argue for the recognition of a new geological era – the Anthropocene – recognising that every part of the natural world has been affected by humanity and these effects can be evidenced in the geology of this new age. 

We are called to re-appraise the gospel in the light of every age. Given the far-reaching impact of man on the natural world, we can no longer consider climate change as an ‘issue’ for the church, but as part of the context in which it works. This context is not only theoretical or theological but missional too. There is a growing awareness of the impact of ‘eco-anxiety’ on populations – affecting the pastoral ministry of the church. The pursuit of justice will increasingly demand a response to the humanitarian consequences of climate change, especially its impact on those who have little resources to cope with it.


A Theology of Climate Change  - a historical overview

Although the Church of England was, at the Malvern Conference in 1941, the first faith group to issue a public statement on environmental theology; by the 1960’s, in common with the majority of other Christian organisations around the world, it was promoting an understanding of the Imago-Dei that placed humanity above the rest of creation. An understanding that still pervades some parts of the church today, such as in the Bible Belt of America.

In 1967 the medieval historical Lynn White published an article titled ‘The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis’ in which he proposed that Christianity bears a significant burden of guilt for the crisis itself, since its worldview validated the exploitation of the earth’s resources for the benefit of humanity. Christianity, he said, is the most anthropocentric religion the world has ever seen.

In response to White’s challenge, a Christian environmental theology developed around the notion of stewardship; dominion over the earth not being an act of domination but an exercise in ‘viceregency’. This theology of stewardship is explored in Claire Foster’s book ‘Sharing God’s Planet’ (2005) which can be downloaded at this link. 

The stewardship model for environmental theology has dominated in parts of the church ever since, but it has its critics. Many of these are raised succinctly by the academic Clare Palmer who has written extensively on environmental ethics. She argues that the language of stewardship views God as some sort of absentee landlord; a notion far removed from the concept of panentheism.   


Criticisms of the Stewardship model of environmental theology 

Ruth Newton suggests that stewardship alone is an insufficient theological response to the issue of climate change. She sets out the main criticisms as follows: 

1. Relationship : The stewardship model diagnoses the problem as one of the relationship between humanity and nature. It seems to exclude God. The American theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether offers a further critique – that stewardship seems to exclude the humanitarian consequences of humanity’s actions; by limiting the focus to a problem between man and nature, the model ignores the exploitative way in which humanity has played off different classes, races and nations in the quest to exploit the natural resources of the world.

2. Individualistic : The stewardship model prescribes an individual response as a solution. But an individual response can only be part of an effective, holistic, response to the problem. Many people – those with limited choices or with little resources – cannot choose to make lifestyle changes. They may live in areas where they cannot choose sustainable forms of transport because there are none. Or they may not have the funds to be able to purchase more expensive, less ecologically damaging goods. Further, the individual focus ignores the role of God – treating him like an absentee landlord, not a God who is with us. 

3. Narrow : The discussion of stewardship is based primarily in the Old Testament. It eschews notions of salvation and eschatology. It could be said to encourage a heresy (Pelagianism) – that solving the problem of environmental change is all down to us (humans) – that there is no need or place for God’s grace.


Forming a Theology of Climate Change

If stewardship alone is an insufficient basis for a theology of Climate Change what other theological resources can the church draw upon? 

Love of neighbour : How are our neighbours and other parts of the body of Christ, affected by climated change? 

Body of Christ : We must recognise the humanitarian impact of global warming and our interconnectedness. We must see beyond our limited horizon to understand and express our love for all creatures. God came to earth as a Jew but brought salvation for all, including Gentiles. He came as a man but brought salvation to men and women. He came as a human but was incarnate within the creatureliness of all creation. This is an idea expressed in Richard Bauckham’s book ‘The Bible and Ecology’ which calls for a reengagement with the idea of the Cosmic Crist – the incarnation as being about Creator becoming part of Creation. James Jones, former Bishop of Liverpool described Jesus’s vocation as ‘earthing heaven’. Bringing heaven down to earth; a task in which we are invited to participate.

Preferential option for the poor : It is in the face of the poor, the sick, the needy, that we see Christ. We can draw on this to help us to serve those worst hit by climate change, with least resources and least resistance. 

Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God : We are following the Way to the Kingdom of God, a kingdom which as we glimpse it through scripture, includes ecological harmony. In the Pilgrim Course, David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, says we must be signs pointing to the kingdom; our lifestyle choices are signposts. 

A theology of climate change is a theology of the cross and the resurrection. We need to articulate a theology of re-creation. The wounds visible on the resurrected Christ show us that there will be some sense of continuity between this world and the next. We must know the impact of what we are doing and recognise that it will have eternal significance. No act of love will be wasted – even if we are “hospice workers to a dying planet” (as Richard Baukham has suggested).

Image : Gaia by Juke Jerram, Salisbury Cathedral