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ABSTRACT
This article argues that there is a moral and theological imperative to protest against policies and industries which perpetuate the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE). First, evidence is gathered that different church and theological voices are aware of the CEE and engaged with it at some level. Pope Francis’ 2023 Laudate Deum and Quaker Faith and Practice are cited in particular. Walter Wink’s non-violent Jesus is offered as a rationale for creative, prophetic enactment and non-violent direct action (NVDA); and lessons are learned from the success of the 1960s American Civil Rights movement. The Christian Climate Action movement is outlined as a place where authentic and effective enactment takes place. Lastly, words from Martin Luther King Jr. serve as an indictment on today’s church where we fail to offer meaningful protest. A post-script considers ‘hypocrisy’ and the carbon footprint versus radical, systemic change.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 IPCC (2023) A2.2.
2 IPCC (2023) A4.4.
3 1.1 degrees is the current estimate; however, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68110310 and similar reports, that Earth has already, this year, exceeded 1.5 degrees
4 Ruth Valerio, Saying Yes to Life p.5
5 Ibid., ix–x.
6 Chris King, Our Celtic Heritage pp.44–5.
7 Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 McLaren’s full title is Everything Must Change: Engaging with a World on Fire
11 See Pope Francis, Laudato Si’
12 Pope Francis, Laudate Deum para.58
13 See Pope Francis, Laudate Deum paras. 20–23
14 Ibid.,3.
15 Cláudio Carvalhaes, Sacraments and the Earth in Moore-Keish & Farwell, Sacraments and Sacramentality p.527
16 Bing search results for ‘crusty meaning’ https://www.bing.com/search?pc=U528&q=crusty+meanings&form=U528DF accessed 8 February 2024
17 Damien Gayle, Guardian 21 November 2023: ‘Long sentences handed to two Just Stop Oil protesters for scaling the M25 bridge over the Thames are a potential breach of international law and risk silencing public concerns about the environment, a UN expert has said. In a strongly worded intervention, Ian Fry, the UN’s rapporteur for climate change and human rights, said he was ‘particularly concerned’ about the sentences, which were ‘significantly more severe than previous sentences imposed for this type of offending in the past’. He said: ‘I am gravely concerned about the potential flow-on effect that the severity of the sentences could have on civil society and the work of activists, expressing concerns about the triple planetary crisis and, in particular, the impacts of climate change on human rights and on future generations.’ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/20/just-stop-oil-protesters-jail-terms-potentially-breach-international-law-un-expert-says accessed 9 February 2024
18 Pope Francis, Laudate Deum para.58
19 Ibid., 59.
20 Ibid., 60.
21 John L. Bell, The Summons (Will you come and follow me?)
22 Willem Marie Speelman, Men of Gesture p.277
23 Jonathan Birch, Jesus in an Age of Enlightenment p.187
24 Ibid., 187.
26 Walter Wink, Beyond Just War p.200
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid., 206.
29 Ibid., 200.
30 Ibid., 201.
31 Ibid., 202.
32 Ibid., 205.
33 Ibid., 202.
34 Ibid., 205.
35 Jonathan Birch, Jesus in an Age of Enlightenment p.196.
36 Douglas Gwyn, James Nayler p.182 quoted in Jonathan Birch Jesus in an Age of Enlightenment p.196.
37 https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Nayler https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Nayler
38 https://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/109/James-Nayler
39 Ibid.
40 https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Nayler
42 Ibid.
44 Ibid.
45 Ibid.
46 https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-work/climate-economic-justice/climate-justice-4 accessed 1 February 2024
47 Quaker Faith and Practice (QFP) 25.1, at https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/ accessed 1 February 2024
48 London Yearly Meeting, 1988, recorded in Quaker Faith and Practice 25.2, at https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/ accessed 1 February 2024
49 https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/quakers-and-climate-justice-leaflet accessed 1 February 2024
50 Michael Lee, 1976, in Quaker Faith and Practice 20.34, at https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/ accessed 1 February 2024
51 https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/newcollegecop/ accessed 1 February 2024
52 https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/newcollegecop/banners/thank-you/ accessed 1 February 2024
53 Walter Wink, Beyond Just War p.205
54 https://xr-regenerativecultures.org/ accessed 9 February 2024
55 https://xr-regenerativecultures.org/ accessed 9 February 2024
56 Young & Thomas-Walters What the climate movement’s debate about disruption gets wrong
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 Williams (ed) Time to Act pp.11–12
60 Jeremy Williams (ed.) Time to Act p.11
61 Ibid., 14.
62 Ibid., 23.
63 Is it morally legitimate to block traffic (even though emergency vehicles are always allowed to pass)? An unexpected contribution to this debate comes from the controversial comedian Janey Godley https://www.facebook.com/reel/748220683388232
64 Jeremy Williams (ed.) Time to Act p.40
65 https://www.tearfund.org/campaigns/climate-campaign/nfiff-lent-vigil accessed 9 February 2024
67 Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter from a Birmingham Jail 16 April 1963
68 Mark Kaufman, The Carbon Footprint Sham
69 Rebecca Solnit, Guardian 23 November 2021
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Ruth M. Dunster
Ruth M. Dunster is a poet and environmental activist with an interest in Literature, Theology and the Arts. She has written on autism and theology (The Autism of Gxd, 2022) and continues to research as an independent atheologian with the generous support of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Her concept of the divine is denoted Gxd.