It’s no secret that a scorching record-breaking heat wave has been making its way across the United States. Since the beginning of July, countless cities have seen previous daily heat records broken. For instance, over the Fourth of July weekend, Death Valley reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking its previous record of 127 degrees. Days later, for the first time in recorded history, Las Vegas hit 120 degrees.
This extreme heat is not only unprecedented; it’s also horribly deadly. According to the National Weather Service, extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, Not to mention that these ever-increasing heat waves fuel wildfires, which ravage ecosystems, claim homes and end lives. The effects of climate change, if left unchecked, will become ever more pronounced in this country.
Unfortunately, a prominent existing force is religious ideology that preaches science denial — and its grip on too many politicians and voters. White evangelical Christians, a vocal and politically powerful minority, are particularly influential in deterring and preventing steps to address the climate crisis.
According to a 2023 study from PRRI, the religious views of Americans influence whether or not they believe climate change is happening, whether they believe climate change is entirely or mostly human-caused, and whether they believe climate change is even a real problem. For instance, the study found that 49 percent of white evangelical Protestants “believe that climate change is caused by natural patterns in the environment.” Further, “Nearly two in 10 white evangelical Protestants (19 percent) believe there is no solid evidence of climate change, which is slightly higher than” other religions.
Even more disturbing, the 2023 study revealed “35 percent of Americans agree that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in what the Bible calls ‘the end of times.’” This is frightening. The notion that the human-created climate crisis we are living in is indicative of the Christian apocalypse is not only absurd, it’s dangerous.
Claims that climate change is inevitable and dictated by a god’s will do nothing to motivate change but instead encourage apathy toward the environmental catastrophe that humans are responsible for. At best, people who buy into the idea that climate change is a sign of “the end times” will continue to turn a blind eye to what’s happening to our planet. At worst, this ridiculous lie leads people to disregard the need to preserve and protect the planet’s resources for future generations, because why does the Earth’s health matter if Jesus will arrive soon to set up the Kingdom of God?
In contrast, 2022 survey data from the Pew Research Center shows that “atheists are the most likely to be concerned with climate change — nearly two-thirds think that it’s an extremely serious issue.” Nine in 10 atheists understand that human activity is causing climate change, compared to 53 percent of Americans overall. That same data also reveals the undeniable political component: Evangelicals primarily vote for conservative candidates who do not support taking action to fight climate change. Whether or not white evangelical Christians personally believe climate change is a problem, they overwhelmingly choose candidates who ignore the problem, or would make it worse.
Last year was the hottest summer on record so far, but 2024 is already giving it a run for its money. If all Americans alike don’t wake up soon to the realities of the environmental crisis we face, then we will find ourselves living in a hell of our own making right here on Earth.
