Political Theology of Ecological Action A Political Theology of Ecological Action: Liberation of the Poor through Democratic Stewardship of Creation Zach Snyder School of Social Work; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University In the United States, many popular forms of evangelical Christianity hold a deep skepticism and antipathy toward ecological activism for reasons ranging from political interests to eschatology. In this paper I will present a legitimate model for the role of the Christian faith in ecological action that is developed by considering and synthesizing the work of two theologians, Leonardo Boff and Christopher Southgate. The contributions from each of these authors are centered on the call to care for creation as a response to their respective areas of emphasis: the suffering and striving of the poor and marginalized in the case of Boff, and the evolutionary bondage of the biosphere in the case of Southgate. While their studies are different in substantial ways, their models of faithful evaluation and response are remarkably complimentary. To this end, working to implement Boff’s vision of an ecologicalsocial democracy is actually a quality application of Southgate’s view of the role of Christians in ecological work. Ecological crisis and socio-political conflict in the developing world are inextricably related; consequently, a broad, multi-disciplinary approach is essential to deal with the underlying causes.1 For example, few would link fishery decline to child slavery. However, the connection is actually quite strong.2 As yields at established fisheries decline, West African communities resort to hunting instead of consuming fish, which had previously been the primary source of protein from animals. Due to terrestrial wildlife decline, however, hunters have turned to using forced child labor to cost-effectively hunt in areas which were previously too cost-prohibitive to be profitable. 3 Terrorist groups that exploit the high prices associated with the largely black-market ivory trade are another example cited as a connection between conflict and ecological concerns and policy.4
Aside from the veritable minefield of moral hazards, current methods of approaching both ecological concerns and social conflict is clearly unsustainable. We need a new approach. Considering that the extant problems are so large and systemic, we must next ask, what should the people’s role be in engaging sustainability? To assist in considering this question, Christopher Southgate has developed a helpful spectrum for identifying the human role in care for creation, which he reviews in his 2008 book, The Groaning of Creation. On one end, he places anthropocentric views such as Philip Hefner’s model of being co-creators with God; this high view of human dominion and intermediation seeks to elevate our status well above other creatures, perhaps too far.5 Southgate points out that a model that leans exclusively to this end of the spectrum fails
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Brashares et al., 2014 ibid. 3 ibid.
Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2014-Spring 2015 |Volume 2
ibid. Southgate, 2008
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