Christian views on environmentalism vary among different Christians and Christian denominations.
Major Christian denominations endorse the Biblical calling for stewardship of God's creation and responsibility for its care. Some of this church policy is relatively recent and may not be followed by some parishioners. According to some social science research, conservative Christians and members of the Christian right are typically less concerned about issues of environmentalism than the general public, and some fundamentalist Christians deny global warming and climate change. Many Christians are environmental activists who promote awareness and action at the church, community, and national levels.
Green Christianity is a broad field that encompasses Christian theological reflection on nature, liturgy, and spiritual practices centered on environmental issues, as well as Christian-based activism in the environmental movement. Within the activism arena, green Christianity refers to a diverse group of Christians who emphasize the biblical or theological basis for protecting and celebrating the environment. The term indicates not a particular denomination but a shared territory of concern.
The status of nature in Christianity has been hotly debated, primarily since historian Lynn White published the now classic The historical roots of present-day ecologic crisis in 1967 in which he blames Christianity for the modern environmental crisis. His conclusion is primarily due to the dominance of the Christian worldview in the West, which is exploitative of nature in an unsustainable manner. He asserts that Judeo-Christians are anti-ecological, hostile towards nature, imposed a break between humans and soul with an attitude to exploit nature in an unsustainable way where people stopped thinking of themselves as part of the nature. This exploitative attitude, combined with the new technology and industrial revolution, wreaked havoc on the ecology. The colonial forestry is a prime example of this destruction of ecology and native faiths. Lynn White's argument was made in a 1966 lecture before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, subsequently published in the journal Science, that Western Christianity, having de-sacralized and instrumentalized nature to human ends, bears a substantial "burden of guilt" for the contemporary environmental crisis. White's essay stimulated a flurry of responses, ranging from defenses of Christianity to qualified admissions to complete agreement with his analysis.
Basic beliefs
Christianity has a long historical tradition of reflection on nature and human responsibility. Christianity has a strong tendency toward anthropocentrism, as emphasized in the early environmentalist critique of Lynn Townsend White, Jr. While some Christians favor a more biocentric approach, Catholic officials and others seek to retain an emphasis on humanity while incorporating environmental concerns within a framework of Creation Care. Christian environmentalists emphasize the ecological responsibilities of all Christians as stewards of God's earth.
Beginning with the verse Genesis 1:26–28, God instructs humanity to manage the creation in particular ways.
Adam's early purpose was to give care to the Garden of Eden:
Green Christians point out that the biblical emphasis is on stewardship, not ownership—that the earth remains the Lord's (Psalms 24:1) and does not belong to its human inhabitants. Leviticus 25:23 states:
As a result of the doctrine of stewardship, Christian environmentalists oppose policies and practices that threaten the health or survival of the planet. Of particular concern to such Christians are the current widespread reliance on non-renewable resources, habitat destruction, pollution, and all other factors that contribute to climate change or otherwise threaten the health of the ecosystem. Due to these positions, many Christian environmentalists have broken tiers with conservative political leaders.
Anglican – Episcopal Church
The Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church have strong beliefs about the need for environmental awareness and actions. Reducing carbon footprints and moving toward sustainable living are priorities. The British have played a leading role in the modern environmentalist movement, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1995 created an NGO, known as the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, to change the views of religions on environmentalism and global warming. For many years, an Anglican headed it up, the Secretary-General, Martin Palmer.