Religious Americans are more likely to believe the Earth is sacred and God commands us to care for nature, but very religious Americans are decidedly less likely to believe in or care about the climate crisis. In a Pew Center study surveying over 10,000 Americans 74% of believers affirm the earth is sacred, and 80% agree “God gave humans a duty to protect and care for the Earth.” But “highly religious Americans are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe” or to believe climate change is happening or caused by human action. 

The climate crisis is a very serious concern for 57% of Americans and human caused for 47%. The numbers drop for religious Americans, drop again for Christians, and practically plummet for very religious Americans. Over 70% of Americans who rarely or never go to church or belong to other faiths view the climate crisis as very serious and human caused, but only 40% of very religious Christians do so.  

Why do very religious American Christians care so much less about climate change? Most very regular church goers lean Republican, and only 25% of Republicans sees the climate crisis as very serious, compared to 83% of Democrats. More very religious Americans also believe other problems are more important, God controls the climate, and government efforts to address the climate crisis will cost too much money and too many jobs and civil liberties.

But another reason people attending church very often are less concerned about the climate crisis could be they rarely hear about the climate from the pulpit or other congregants. The Pew Center study authors report that “(a)mong all U.S. adults who say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month, just 8% say they hear a great deal or quite a bit about climate change in sermons … (while) seven-in-ten say they hear little or nothing about it. Similarly, just 6% of U.S. congregants say they talk about climate change with other people at their congregation a great deal or quite a bit.” For regular churchgoers the pulpit and pew are largely climate-free zones.

 What impact could more climate preaching have? Nearly two-thirds of respondents who reported hearing some climate sermons were very concerned about the climate crisis, while just over a third of those who rarely or never heard such sermons were similarly concerned. More preaching could double believers’ concern.

And these additional climate sermons could also move the dial by focusing on three other Pew Center study findings. First, 71% of Americans who consider the impact of their actions on future generations are very concerned about the climate crisis, while only 57% of those who want to live their lives without worrying about our grandchildren’s generations are similarly concerned. Second, while over 60% of religious Americans believe that God has given humans both a duty to care for the Earth (stewardship) and the right to use the Earth for our benefit (dominion), only 45% of those very concerned about the climate believe in this right to dominion, while a whopping 75% of those unconcerned about the climate crisis cling to this belief. Third, while most of Americans engage in personal practices to protect the environment, religious Americans are less likely to be involved in civic or political actions addressing the climate crisis. 

These findings suggest climate sermons should highlight congregants’ duties to our grandchildren. The God commanding humans to be fruitful and multiply and promising our biblical ancestors’ descendants as plentiful as the stars in the sky could not want these grandchildren living in a wasteland.  Second, climate preaching should focus more on the stewardship duty to care for the Earth and stop recycling the so-called dominion right to use the Earth for our own benefit. Most church documents on climate have already moved beyond dominion, so should our preachers. Third, pastors must stress civic and political action as essential parts of addressing the climate crisis. Pope Francis and other religious leaders have made it clear we will not save the planet without structural change. We need to hear that more often from the pulpit. 

American Christians already know the Earth is sacred and we have a God-given duty to be stewards of creation. We need more and better climate preaching calling us to address the greatest threat to the planet and our grandchildren.