24 Jun Bringing the Pope’s Message Home: Religion and Climate Change in Austin

Last week, Pope Francis released a ground-breaking encyclical (or teaching) on climate change that set the world abuzz. In it, he acknowledged the scientific consensus around climate change (that it's happening and that human beings are causing it), and called on all the nations of the world to stop it. He spoke of reducing the world's reliance on fossil fuels and placed a lot of responsibility on the world's richest countries, calling on them to bear the largest burden in fighting climate change.

In doing so, he tied climate change to social justice, noting that climate change will hit the world's poorest countries the hardest. And, in a move that has earned a lot of controversy here in the US, he also called out modern society's "throwaway culture," warning that it's fouling the planet and turning it into an "immense pile of filth."

All of this has generated a lot of debate and discussion worldwide, so AEN Editor Amy Stansbury decided to bring the conversation home. Earlier this week she sat down with Tom VandeStadt, pastor of the Congregation Church of Austin, to talk about the effect the encyclical is having right here in Austin.

AEN: What impact is the encyclical having on the local religious/eco community here in Austin?

Tom VandeStadt: First off, there's deep gratitude that Pope Francis affirms the scientific consensus that humans are heating the planet by burning fossil fuels, reducing earth's biodiversity, and driving up the rate of species' extinction, all in very alarming ways.  It's crucially important that religious leaders publicly affirm the scientific consensus.  But even more profoundly, the Pope very strenuously proclaims that the issue of climate change is inseparable from the issue of political and economic justice.  The suffering of the earth and the suffering of the poor are bound together.  And what's producing that suffering is a political economy dominated by hearts and minds obsessed with wealth, power, and consumption.  Many religious people are deeply grateful to the Pope for making that connection so strongly.  

With that said, there's a flurry of activity in Austin right now to encourage people to read the Encyclical.  There will no doubt be, especially as we lead up to the climate talks in Paris, a lot of forums and dialogue groups meeting to discuss it.  And right now, The Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy is asking people to sign a letter of support for the Pope's Encyclical, and to take what they're calling the Paris Pledge–to cut their carbon pollution in half by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Have local organizations/congregations already taken the lead on the issues/beliefs expressed in the encyclical?

Absolutely.  Texas Impact, Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Faith Energy Action Team, Interfaith Environmental Network,  Austin Interfaith, BioIntegrity–these are all local faith-based organizations for which the issue of climate change, and political and economic justice, intersect.  These groups work on the local, state, and international level, from supporting the Austin Community Climate Action Plan, to working on state water issues, to protecting biodiversity in the tropics.

In Austin, there have been a number of interfaith events on climate change, from interfaith dialogues to the Interfaith Environmental Network's annual preach-off, which brings together Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists, and Christians to speak-out on climate change.

Finally, a number of Austin's churches, synagogues, and Zen centers have made huge strides in reducing their carbon footprint by making their buildings energy-efficient, installing solar panels, and buying carbon offsets.

How are religion and the environment connected? Do you see the climate change as an issue that religious groups (on both a global and local level ) should be involved in? Why?

All the major religious traditions proclaim some version of the teaching that the earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth, or we belong to the One who created the earth, and it is humanity's responsibility to care responsibly for the earth.  It is our responsibility to bring about justice and peace, to live in harmony, to seek the common good for all that exists on earth.  Now this teaching has all too often been forgotten or distorted into its opposite.  We live in a world where humans oppress both one another and the earth.  This oppression creates deep wounds, both within people and upon the earth.  And it creates division and conflict, where people see themselves set apart from the earth and set against each other.  For me, healthy religious practice seeks to liberate the oppressed, heal the wounds, and reconcile the conflicts, both within people and upon the earth.  So for me, climate change is, at its very root, a religious issue.

Name one passage of the encyclical that really stood out to you. Explain why you picked it.

From paragraph 179:  "…while the existing world order proves powerless to assume its responsibilities, local individuals and groups can make a real difference.  They are able to instill a greater sense of responsibility, a strong sense of community, a readiness to protect others, a spirit of creativity, and a deep love for the land.  They are also concerned about what they will leave their children and grandchildren…Unless citizens control political power–national, regional and municipal, it will not be possible to control damage to the environment." (pages 131-132).

The Pope stresses here the necessity of local action.  While climate change is an issue of global proportions, with big powerful interests at play, every citizen has a responsibility to be engaged locally in their community and within the local political process.

How can Austinites get more involved in fighting climate change/putting the pope's words into action?

The Pope uses the word "sober" a lot in his Encyclical.  Basically, what he's saying is, "Wake up and come to your senses!"  Become acutely aware of the impact your lifestyle is having on the earth and other people, especially the poor.  That's really the first step.  Become acutely aware of the impact your carbon footprint and your consumption patterns are having on the earth and other people.  And then change everything you possibly can to lessen your carbon footprint and to reduce  your consumption.  In other words, get a carbon audit on your house, buy less and buy more local.

Besides that, get personally involved with any of the groups I've mentioned, or any of the other groups Austin Eco-Network promotes.  We need to build a strong movement that fully integrates climate justice, political justice, and economic justice.  Find a group with whom you can work most effectively, be it a religious or a secular group.  You'll make friends, and you'll help save the earth.

Tom VandeStadt is the pastor of the Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ, and a member of Austin's Appamada Zen Center.  He is active with the Faith Energy Action Team and Austin Interfaith.  His church keeps very busy serving the homeless in the West Campus neighborhood, and doing all it can to reduce its carbon footprint.