Download Black Church and Climate Change

Black and Green:
The Black Church and Climate Change
By Chris Andre-Watson
The 16th Century Copernican revolution put the Sun at the centre of the solar system despite the
resistance of the religious establishment. Yet this was simply an astronomical and scientific
realignment. Five hundred years later the ecological crisis facing the planet is causing a new
Copernican revolution that is putting Earth back at the centre but this time of a moral universe.
If Earth is the only life sustaining planet in our universe then it is right where it belongs.
Three years ago the government’s Stern Review on the Economics of Climate1 Change was a
pivotal moment in putting environmental issues at the heart of political thinking and making the
link between green and capitalist ideologies. Years of ignoring the moral arguments for
addressing climate change were overturned when the bill for inaction was finally calculated.
The Kyoto Protocol and the now he United Nations Copenhagen Summit demonstrate just how
high the stakes are politically and globally.
Yet despite this monumental shift in thinking and discussion the environmental issue seems to
have barely registered on the radar of black theological thinking or churchmanship in the UK,
despite the increasing influence and affluence of the black church scene.
But any understanding of the issues reveals that black people particularly in Africa will be
disproportionately affected by climate change:

The African continent is warmer that it was 100 years ago. The six warmest years in
Africa have all occurred since 1987 with 1998 being the warmest year.2

Climate change is predicted to disrupt crop yields and reduced African GDP by a tenth in
years ahead. In a continent that is already struggling to feed itself imagines of famine
stricken Africans will become even more frequent.

In 2007 widespread flooding in Uganda, Ghana, Sudan and Ethiopia affected 7500000,
destroying homes and harvest washed away. This is expected to happen more
frequently as temperatures continue to rise
1
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change was a 700-page report produced by Lord Nicholas
Stern for the government in 2006. www.occ.gov.uk/activities/stern.htm
2
Climate change and Africa, Edited by Pak Sum Low, Cambridge University Press, p30
December 2009
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
The glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya are melting at an alarming rate
threatening many villages that rely on the snows to renew their drinking wells.
Mount Kilimanjaro is expected to lose its remaining ice caps by 2020 and Mount Kenya
has lost 90 per cent of its glaciers already.3
The facts and predictions paint an apocalyptic future and misery for millions. Whilst there are
clearly other pressing issues that the black churches and its leaders must address today all those
efforts will be wasted if tomorrow is not secured as well.
Sadly the climate change debate has been dominated by what can be described as Tarzan
syndrome. This is the belief that such is superiority of white people that black people need
rescuing and have little to contribute to their own salvation. Nor does the arrival of a black
American President significantly change this assumption. This is one of the reasons why the
black church and community urgently needs to mobilise itself because the future of the planet is
being decided mainly by white Western world leaders who have little vested interest in the
welfare of the black world. This may smack of paranoia but history demonstrates that the
wealthy white world will sacrifice black people in order to further its own need and preserve its
status. The climate change debate has fundamentally become about economic, commercial
and political power, the preservation of that power and the long term battle for a share in the
earth’s dwindling resources.
In the face of the challenges that lie ahead the black led churches need a major re-education of
its congregations. Those churches with the capacity need to be looking at ways they can be
more involved in shaping the political agenda around climate change, ensuring that the UK black
voice is heard.
A cursory study of the biblical story reveals that the environmental theme is an intrinsic part of
the text. From the opening chapters of scripture, to the anthemic declaration of Psalm 24 that
the ‘Earth is the Lord’s’, through to the concluding denouement of Revelations and the promise
of a new creation ecological themes run right through the Bible.
But even within African traditions the themes of creation-care are there. Working with the
African Initiated churches in Zimbabwe Professor M L Daneel4 describes the earth-keeping
movement that arose which draws on traditional Shona eco-religious spirituality and ritual
practise and Christian enviro-theology in a bid to address the impact of environmental
degradation caused by climate change and human exploitation of the natural world. Not only
does this provide a repudiation of Western rationalist assumptions about the world but helpfully
gives African and black led churches an opportunity to reclaim some of their own valuable
3
Christian Aid News, Issue 35 Spring 2005, P15
4
African Earthkeepers, Volume 1 Interfaith mission in earth-care M L Daneel, Unisa Press, copyright University
of South Africa
December 2009
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cosmological insights that have been lost in the transition into an urban context. The ‘trick’ will
be to overcome the suspicion of African spirituality that has been in imbibed through a Western
Christological viewpoint.
Despite the gloom there are some positive benefits for developing an eco-consciousness. Black
churches need to be preparing their congregations for the green economy and the vista of
opportunities that will arise from this ecological future. The coming green revolution will open
up new career opportunities for the high-flying black worshipper. Traditionally career
opportunities have been limited to local government, the medical and legal professions, IT,
accountancy and the music world. Now having environmental credentials on your CV could
become increasingly important to a prospective employer. Careers are opening up in
environmental planning and law, conservation, corporate strategy, construction, design, civil
engineering, renewable energy and new technology. The black community is already being left
behind in the IT race. It seriously risks being left behind again with all the implications for
employment and poverty.
In addressing the environmental issue, black churches have today an arsenal of resources at
their disposal. The number of books and websites on the issue is now overwhelming. The web is
perhaps the most immediate and accessible places for finding resources on the creation care
issue. Below I have listed some of the books and websites used in this article.
Books
Climate change and Africa, Edited by Pak Sum Low, Cambridge University Press
David Atkinson Renewing the Face of the Earth: A theological and Pastoral Response to
Climate change Canterbury Press 2008. ISBN 978-1-85311-898-2
A new climate for theology: God, the World and Global Warming Copyright Sally McFague
Fortress Press 2008 ISBN 978-0-8006-6271-4
African Earthkeepers, Volume 1 Interfaith mission in earth-care M L Daneel, Unisa Press,
copyright University of South Africa
Websites
www.christianaid.org.uk
www.tearfund.org
www.stopclimatechaos.org
www.foe.co.uk
www.arocha.org
www.earthscan.co.uk
www.climatestewards.net
www.occ.gov.uk
December 2009
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