Does the Environmental Movement Need the Faith Community?

This article first appeared on Washington Post's "On Faith" Blog.

Everyone seems to be going green these days, even a growing number in the faith community. A recent Sierra Club survey reported that 67 percent of Americans said they care about the earth because it is "God's creation," a figure that has prompted many secular environmental groups to begin reaching out to the faithful. But does the environmental movement need the faith community or are green groups better off setting their own agenda and going it alone?

Many respected environmentalists recognize the role faith must play in the conversation. Edward O. Wilson, a famed scientist and Pulitzer Prize-winning environmentalist, penned "The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth," a book that was written to a fictitious Southern Baptist pastor. Wilson believes that pastors may be the key to solving our problems. I think he is more right than he realizes. The environmental movement cannot afford to overlook America's faith community for several reasons:

- A compelling narrative. Max Oelschlaeger, a professor at North Texas University who teaches philosophy of ecology, has written, "There are no solutions for the systemic causes of ecocrisis, at least in democratic societies, apart from religious narrative." Christianity, for example, tells the story of a God who creates everything, calls it "good," buries the revelation of his character inside of nature, and then explicitly asks humankind to care for it and preserve it. That's why a recent editorial in Christianity Today declared, "The Bible is not the enemy of the environmental cause, but its greatest asset." A story in which God asks human beings to do something is hard to beat.

- More evocative language. Tapping into religious narrative gives environmental groups access to authoritative language. As Immanuel Kant pointed out, religious language is moral discourse. It helps us talk about God's intentions for good behavior. Such talk enables environmentalists to up the ante by utilizing the language of goodness, sin and repentance.

- Mobilized communities. The key to any movement is the ability to motivate many people with as little effort as possible. Every Sunday, millions of faithful gather in houses of worship across America. These networks are already in place and, in many cases, have sophisticated ways of disseminating information. If these communities catch a vision for earth's restoration, the stewardship message will reach more people with less effort.

- Powerful voting bloc. Religion is influential in America, if for no other reason, due to their sheer numbers. Unfortunately for green advocates, these groups have not been significantly swayed by environmental concerns. According to a 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly 90 percent of Americans described themselves as religious, but only 21 percent report being active in the environmental movement.

This disconnect might be explained by the environmental movement's seeming unwillingness to forge solutions that appeal to the more conservative religious voting bloc. If the green crowd wants to capture the hearts of America's faithful--and they need to--they must begin looking for common ground solutions. There is a difference between cooperating with people of faith and co-opting them. Environmentalists must respect their convictions and honor their need for a varied set of conditions and principles.

The environmental movement clearly needs the faith community, but there is another side to the conversation: the faith community also needs to engage the environmental conversation. As everyday folks become aware of the devastation caused by global environmental problems, the credibility of faith communities are on the line. When believers respond to pressing problems with blind political partisanship and callousness, their public witness is damaged; when they begin living selfless lives of awareness and advocacy, the public is persuaded. As Mama used to say, "actions speak louder than words."

The environmental movement needs the narrative, language and people of America's faith community to begin making real progress. At the same time, believers need to validate the viability of their faith by living externally focused lives that show love for the Creator's handwork and the people who depend on it. If environmentalists and religious communities begin cooperating in ways that preserve their respective core values, it might just be a match made in heaven.

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