By Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD

Recently, I had a chance to spend some time with a good friend whom I have not seen for a long time. My friend as best as I could tell is a decent human being. He is a faithful husband to his wife, a loving father to his children, a responsible employee in his company, and most importantly, a God fearing man. He attends Mass regularly and listens to Christian podcasts. When our conversation got around to my academic research, I told him that my interest and most of my writing up to this point have revolved around the topic of religious environmentalism. I felt that religions had a vital role to play in the environmental crisis because the majority of the people in the world still adhered to a religious belief which means that religious leaders can exert considerable influence on the followers of the faith on behalf of the environment. Promoting environmental concern is easier when we realize that the human spiritual destiny was intimately connected to how we entered into and lived out our relationship with not just other human beings but even with the natural environment. I also presented a number of other reasons why followers of various religions, including Christianity might resort to their religious traditions in order to act on behalf of the environment.

Despite quite a bit of passionate convincing on my part, my friend did not seem impressed. He did not feel that something like environmental stewardship was integral to being a Christian or that promoting environmental well-being held ramifications for one's salvation. "Aren't we supposed to be looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth?" He asked. "If that's the case then why is there such a preoccupation with this earth?" I tried to further convince him that caring for our common home, to use Pope Francis' words, this very earth that we are living on, was indeed a worthwhile effort not only for the sake of the earth but also for our sake, and for the sake of all those people who will become victims of global warming and climate change, especially those living in developing countries and are most susceptible to the consequences of the crisis. Unfortunately, by the end of our conversation, he still found it difficult to see why such a big deal had to be placed on the issue of the environment. One of his qualms is that environmentalism becomes like a religion and this preoccupation with a material entity takes the attention away from God himself.

As I reflected on my friend's attitude and feelings toward efforts to promote environmental well-being, whether in secular society or in the religious circles, I realized that my friend was far from unique. There are many good and faithful church going Christians who will do their best to follow the Ten Commandments, but do not see a connection between caring for the environment and their spiritual goals. Despite the initial global impact that Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si had made, not a few people felt that the Pope's decision to address the environmental crisis on the level of an encyclical was beyond his role and responsibility.

It is because of this disconnect between Christian morality and environmental concerns that we see many faithful Christians having no qualms about living in big houses, driving big cars, or enjoying shark fin soup at a dinner banquet. Unlike the Patriarch Bartholomew, they do not feel that these environmentally destructive actions constitute personal or collective sin. But it's not just Christians who are not weighed down by a guilty conscience. There are plenty of Buddhists in Bangkok (where I am living) who regularly come to the temple to make merit and listen to the dharma talks by the monks, but lead their lives far from the virtues of simplicity and moderation that Buddhism tries to promote.

Leading an outwardly good religious life but demonstrating a lack of concern for the environment is another example of how many people of faith live their lives in a compartmentalized manner. As Christians, it may be a challenge to convince ourselves that driving an oil guzzling car constitutes a sin that needs confession and asking for forgiveness. As far as I can recall, no one has ever come to me with a confession of an environmental sin. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile for us to ask ourselves the question: Can we really be good Christians if we failed to demonstrate care for our common home which is under severe stress from our destructive behaviour?