Beyond Spiritual Focus: Climate Change Awareness, Role Perception, and Action among Church Leaders in Nigeria

Abstract

This study explored the role of church leaders in addressing climate change with a focus on Catholic, Anglican, and Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. The study adopted a semistructured face-to-face interview with 30 church leaders drawn from the selected denominations (i.e., 10 church leaders from each denomination). These participants were spread across five states in five geopolitical zones in Nigeria. A descriptive narrative approach was employed in the thematic organization and analysis of data. Findings showed that while all the participants across the three denominations—Catholic, Anglican, and Pentecostal churches—agreed to have heard of climate change, their perceptions of the causes of the phenomenon were narrow and varied along religious denominational lines. More Catholic participants expressed belief in anthropogenic climate change than did Anglicans and Pentecostals. Awareness creation, charity for disaster victims, and prayer were identified by the participants as the roles churches can play in addressing climate change. Although climate change action was generally poor among participants, Catholics engaged more in organizational action than did Anglicans and Pentecostals. In contrast, climate change actions were more on a personal level than on the organizational/church level within Pentecostal churches. The implications of the findings for the Church/church leaders, policy, and future research are discussed.

The Church Climate Action: Identifying the Barriers and the Bridges

“…In Nigeria, Nche et al (2017) reported liturgical indifference and inaction of churches towards climate change in the country. Also, in a recent study on climate action among church leaders in Nigeria, Nche (2020a) reported poor climate action across Catholic, Anglican and Pentecostal participants in the study. All these suggest that there seem not to have been effective church climate actions in many societies across the globe.…”

“…However, the recently concluded 25th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in Madrid has been found to be limited in its decisions as countries could not deliver a strong agreement on a framework for international carbon markets that would have environmental integrity at its core (Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2019). To this end, Nche (2020a) observes that the remedy to climate change seems to have practically evaded the grip of laws and policies as arguably seen in the failure or the highly ‘politicized’ reports of the several UN climate change conferences. Despite environmentalists’ best efforts, the necessary political will and public engagement to fuel robust action on climate change remain in short supply (Wilkinson, 2012).…”

“…Due largely to the futility of the several UN climate change conferences and other environmentalist efforts in securing the necessary political will and public engagement to fuel robust action on climate change (Nche, 2020a; Rudd, 2015; Wilkinson, 2012), many scholars and environmental experts have been exploring the potentials of religion in fostering the desired responses to climate change. In fact, many observers have criticised the global political response to climate change, which largely seeks to institutionalise scientific solutions to contemporary environmental problems (see Fromming and Reichel, 2012; Gerten, 2010; Moore and Nelson, 2010; Lestar and Böhm, 2020).…”

“…This is largely because organised religions have fundamentally shaped human cultural and ethical values around the world (Kaplan, 2010). Faith communities, therefore, have spiritual resources or the unique ability to construct moral frameworks that can encourage human beings to protect the Earth (Bomberg and Hague, 2018; Morrison et al, 2015; Nche, 2020a; Tarakeshwar et al, 2001; Tucker, 2003).…”

“…The church climate action refers to robust church-based collective activities and engagements towards mitigating and adapting to climate change, or/and mobilising and facilitating actions (political or social) on climate change. Although church climate action can be carried out on two main levels such as organisational/church and individual levels (see Nche, 2020a), the focus of this study is majorly on the organisational level. These barriers constitute the theological and doctrinal as well as the institutional factors that serve as setbacks in achieving conscious and effective church climate actions in many societies, while the bridges constitute the pathways to achieving effective church climate actions.…”