Religious Institutions & Support for Environmental Protection in Brazil & Kenya

• In Event: In the Hands of Gods or Men: Religion & Responses to Environmental Degradation

Abstract

How do Christian and Muslim religious institutions shape individuals’ explanations of climate change, and their perspectives on environmental protection? Contrary to longstanding theories holding that Christian theology is harmful to the environment, recent work shows that the impact of religion on environmental attitudes varies dramatically across the developing world. We argue that the incentives facing religious institutions can help to explain this variation. This paper draws on qualitative fieldwork and survey data to examine the effect of religion on religiously driven environmental activism in two countries experiencing both religious revivals and climate crises: Brazil and Kenya. We find substantial variation within each country in the extent to which religious institutions talk about environmental degradation and promote environmentalist solutions. We argue that this variation is due to the varying relationships between the state and religious institutions.

Authors

• Amy Erica Smith, Iowa State University

• Lauren Honig, Boston College

• Jaimie Bleck, University of Notre Dame