Evangelicals and the Environment: Sticking Points, and Ways Forward
Location
Bertona 6
Keywords
Day of Common Learning
Description
This session will discuss the major social scientific understandings of the relationship between American Evangelicals and environmental issues. While a recent body of literature notes a growing acceptance of environmentalism by Evangelicalism, typically couched in the language of “Creation Care” and environmental stewardship, Evangelicals as a group have maintained a staunch oppositional attitude towards most pro-environmental issues for the past thirty years. We will consider some of the primary reasons for this, including the calcification of the Evangelical-Republican political coalition, the Evangelical suspicion of scientists, and the effect of popular end-times theology that predicts an imminent Second Coming. We will also discuss how it may be possible to move past these obstacles and the role that institutions like SPU might play in making this happen.
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Evangelicals and the Environment: Sticking Points, and Ways Forward
Bertona 6
This session will discuss the major social scientific understandings of the relationship between American Evangelicals and environmental issues. While a recent body of literature notes a growing acceptance of environmentalism by Evangelicalism, typically couched in the language of “Creation Care” and environmental stewardship, Evangelicals as a group have maintained a staunch oppositional attitude towards most pro-environmental issues for the past thirty years. We will consider some of the primary reasons for this, including the calcification of the Evangelical-Republican political coalition, the Evangelical suspicion of scientists, and the effect of popular end-times theology that predicts an imminent Second Coming. We will also discuss how it may be possible to move past these obstacles and the role that institutions like SPU might play in making this happen.
Rights Statement
