Faith in the Anthropocene: Contested Theologies of Nature and Political Attitudes on Environmental Stewardship

Abstract

This dissertation improves upon past understanding of politics, religion, and nature through a close exploration of the role Christian theology plays in opinion formation. It does so by probing the varieties of religiously motivated environmental stewardship and religious attitudes towards anthropogenic changes of nature. The dissertation also develops new methodological tools to better understand the role of faith during the Anthropocene.

The study employs a mixed-method approach which compares analysis of denominational proclamations about global warming with in-person clergy interviews and survey data collected from two American heartland states. The survey data primarily focuses on climate change, with genetically modified organisms as an additional example of humans altering the natural order. Unique to this dissertation are new measurements of Christian theologies about the human relationship with the created order, which clarify an enduring debate over religion and the environment.

In particular, theology encouraging dominion over nature has almost vanished from religious consciousness. Instead, the key theological distinction is between stewardship as resource management and stewardship as preservation. These theological distinctions help explain acceptance or resistance to anthropogenic changes to nature and they illuminate important differences in policy preferences around climate change, global warming, and other science-driven policy areas