Greening God Christians and Environmentalists Find Common Ground By Kate Holbein Backpacking in New Zealand last spring, I spent an afternoon talking to a self-identified Christian about nature and spirituality. During our conversation, I argued that humans are just one component of an interconnected ecological community and should not consider themselves the superior species. Although the man understood my point, he insisted that God gave the planet to humans so that humanity can achieve greatness. His comment has serious implications; what if Christianity also supports the belief that God sanctions anthropocentrism, unlimited human progress, and the exploitation of natural resources? Some have argued that Christianity contributed to the environmental crisis by introducing a human-centered world view that supports domination of nature. In Genesis, God commanded humans to "fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing." However, Christians have recently sought to redefine our traditional understanding of humans' relationship to the environment. Christian theologians have developed an 'ecotheology,' primarily based on the belief that humans need to act as stewards of Creation. God wants humans to care for the earth and manage natural resources responsibly. Although this perspective is still problematic from an environmental standpoint because it implies that humans, as the superior species, should manipulate ecosystems that are otherwise self-sustaining, the stewardship model does offer a religious rationale for environmental protection. Perhaps in response to this new ecotheology, Christians have become increasingly involved with environmental activism, especially those associated with liberal and evangelical denominations. In his book, The Greening of Protestant Thought, Robert Booth Fowler reports that since the first Earth Day, "increasing numbers of Protestants-as individuals and as churches-have perceived the onset of an environmental crisis and the importance of attending to it." For example, the 1987 study, "Toxic Waste and Race," published by the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice played a significant role in the emergence of the environmental justice movement. Republican leaders, who rely on the political support of conservative Christians, have been startled by Christians' increasing involvement in environmentalism, which suggests that some religious groups may have significant political clout with politicians on environmental issues. In 1996, evangelical Christians played a central role in successfully pressuring conservative legislators to vote against a bill that would have weakened the Endangered Species Act. Lynn White, one of the first to criticize Christianity for supporting human domination over nature, argued that because "the roots of our troubles are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious, whether we call it that or not." While Christians have begun to recognize that we may need a religious solution to the environmental crisis, leaders within the environmental movement have made the mistake of focusing on creating structural change through political reform, while ignoring the need for a major overhaul of our fundamental value system, culture, and lifestyle choices. Radical environmentalists who criticize the mainstream movement call for a new philosophical, spiritual and ethical understanding of humans' relationship to the natural world. Yet this type of fundamental change seems unrealistic to many. How can social reformers in the United States hope to transform Americans' attitudes and beliefs? Environmentalists must begin by strengthening the relationship between the environmental movement and religion. Leaders within the movement have just begun to appreciate that religious groups represent a powerful constituency waiting to be mobilized around environmental issues. William Meadows, the president of the Wilderness Society, recently acknowledged that the environmental movement must no longer be a secular movement, but must be "based on ethical values and beliefs." Carl Pope, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, made a recent statement admitting that "the environmental movement for the past quarter of a century has made no more profound error than to misunderstand the mission of religion and the churches in preserving the Creation." Pope acknowledged that environmental leaders have made the mistake of focusing less on the public's attitudes than on influencing public policy. Environmentalists must realize that merely enacting environmental legislation or reforming the political system will not be effective unless we rework our understanding of humans' relationship to the environment. Environmentalists and religious leaders have the opportunity to help transform individuals' attitudes, so that lasting, meaningful change on a structural level can be achieved.