10
P. D. Nunn and J. M. Luetz
Parker explains, in response to climate-linked deterioration in ecosystem health,
communities initiated different conservation strategies that either privileged traditional spiritual understandings or Christian ones. But both overlapped, revealing the
deep cultural roots of the former, and dualistic beliefs in the efficacy of both.
Belief and Action: A Way Forward?
Action consistent with belief is the theme of the next two chapters. In Chapter 15,
Claudia Ledderucci discusses the Pacific Climate Warriors, a popular culture-based
activist group of Pacific Islanders who represent the fight against climate change both
in terms of social justice and religious advocacy. This demonstrates the growing belief
in the Pacific that effective and sustained action in the face of climate change has
both practical and spiritual dimensions—and that one makes little sense without the
other.
The nexus between religion and pro-environmental behaviours, which feed into
appropriate climate-change adaptation, is the subject of Chapter 16. In this, Thelma
Raman and Johannes Luetz report how the influence of pro-environmental education in Fiji’s high schools led to better behavioural outcomes in religious-based rather
than secular institutions, demonstrating how religion and environmental education
often reinforce one another.
Faith for Survival
The last three chapters in this book focus on the future, the ways in which it is viewed
through various religious and cultural lenses, and how this could affect the ways in
which particular groups of people behave in response to the unfolding challenges
of climate change. The worldview of Pentecostalism is the topic of Chapter 17 by
John Griffiths who attributes much of its success to the alignment of its basic tenets
with those of traditional spiritual beliefs in the Pacific. While privileging the power
of prayer and repentance, Pentecostal beliefs also espouse an ecology that is aligned
with science and, through its restoration and conservation, gives hope for the future.
This theme is discussed more broadly by Johannes Luetz and Richard Leo in
Chapter 18 which looks at ecotheologies, namely the ways in which Christian (and
other) beliefs can positively influence issues of sustainability, including through
faith-based ecosystem management and environmental stewardship. The chapter
concludes that certain religious beliefs may both enable and/or disable environmental
conservation in different contexts. Conceptualising religion as an effective cultural
adaptation resource whose potential in the Anthropocene remains under-appreciated,
the discussion points the way to promoting faith-informed climate change adaptation
prospects in the future.
P. D. Nunn and J. M. Luetz
Parker explains, in response to climate-linked deterioration in ecosystem health,
communities initiated different conservation strategies that either privileged traditional spiritual understandings or Christian ones. But both overlapped, revealing the
deep cultural roots of the former, and dualistic beliefs in the efficacy of both.
Belief and Action: A Way Forward?
Action consistent with belief is the theme of the next two chapters. In Chapter 15,
Claudia Ledderucci discusses the Pacific Climate Warriors, a popular culture-based
activist group of Pacific Islanders who represent the fight against climate change both
in terms of social justice and religious advocacy. This demonstrates the growing belief
in the Pacific that effective and sustained action in the face of climate change has
both practical and spiritual dimensions—and that one makes little sense without the
other.
The nexus between religion and pro-environmental behaviours, which feed into
appropriate climate-change adaptation, is the subject of Chapter 16. In this, Thelma
Raman and Johannes Luetz report how the influence of pro-environmental education in Fiji’s high schools led to better behavioural outcomes in religious-based rather
than secular institutions, demonstrating how religion and environmental education
often reinforce one another.
Faith for Survival
The last three chapters in this book focus on the future, the ways in which it is viewed
through various religious and cultural lenses, and how this could affect the ways in
which particular groups of people behave in response to the unfolding challenges
of climate change. The worldview of Pentecostalism is the topic of Chapter 17 by
John Griffiths who attributes much of its success to the alignment of its basic tenets
with those of traditional spiritual beliefs in the Pacific. While privileging the power
of prayer and repentance, Pentecostal beliefs also espouse an ecology that is aligned
with science and, through its restoration and conservation, gives hope for the future.
This theme is discussed more broadly by Johannes Luetz and Richard Leo in
Chapter 18 which looks at ecotheologies, namely the ways in which Christian (and
other) beliefs can positively influence issues of sustainability, including through
faith-based ecosystem management and environmental stewardship. The chapter
concludes that certain religious beliefs may both enable and/or disable environmental
conservation in different contexts. Conceptualising religion as an effective cultural
adaptation resource whose potential in the Anthropocene remains under-appreciated,
the discussion points the way to promoting faith-informed climate change adaptation
prospects in the future.