Earlier this week, the Vatican announced it's intention to organize a summit named "Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity. The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development " via their website. This move on the part of the Vatican appears to be part of a recent line of decisions by Pope Francis to take a more progressive stance towards issues that have famously been points of sharp criticisms for the church.
Climate change denial in particular, has been strongly tied to the Religious Right here in the United States, whom often been accused of being anti-science and 'behind the times'. From denial of evolutionary theory (which is surprisingly, only accepted by 40% of Americans) to presidential candidate's outright rejection of man made climate change, the Conservative bloc of American politics, which is intimately tied to the religious right, has taken a bad beating as a result of its progress arresting views.
The relatively politically progressive stance taken by the current Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air for a party that has been slowly losing credibility for its increased irrelevance. Though the majority of the United States Christian base is Protestant, and the views expressed by the Pope do not necessarily translate into American politics as a result, Pope Francis enjoys a cozy 90% acceptance rate among American Catholics and a 70% approval rating among the general American population. Such a sign couldn't be more obvious, if the GOP wants to survive Post- Baby Boomer, this may be a good indication of what needs to change.
As was put nicely by Recca Leber, a writer for the New Republic:
"That's certainly not the popular view of science and faith in America. On climate change, deniers like Senator James Inhofe have argued it's hubris to think humans can alter the atmosphere. Florida Governor Rick Scott has used religion to dodge a question on if he thinks humans have caused global warming. On evolution, Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal have pled ignorance in order to avoid offending creationists. Lately Republicans have been invoking the same excuse, over and over again: When asked a question that touches upon science, they dodge the question by saying “I’m not a scientist.”
Francis isn't a scientist either. If he can have some faith in it, can't the GOP, too?"
For our own sake, I certainly hope so.
It's good to see that the Pope and the Vatican are making progressive steps aligned with the times. I think you hint at an interesting point - in order to stay relevant, the Pope, like the Republican Party, must adjust with the times. There is no reason anymore to be denying climate change. The science is pretty conclusive. It’s funny, though, that it doesn’t really matter what science concludes – whether people choose to believe it or not is up to them. As politics works, Republican politicians will adjust to whatever the dominant view is. Perhaps idealistic but I believe that our generation as a whole is wising up to the realities of climate change, so hopefully the GOP rhetoric around climate change will follow suit.
ReplyDeleteI have been consistently impressed with Pope Francis’ relentless efforts to modernize the Vatican’s antiquated stances on progressive issues. Much like his recognition of the Armenian genocide, which paved the way for leaders in Germany, Austria, France, and Russia to echo this recognition, I hope that Pope Francis’ progressive stance towards climate change will pave the way for a change in opinion as well. Unfortunately, lobbyists against climate change are so well funded in the United States. They have led an effortless campaign to stir up doubts in climate change conversation, which is truly baffling because it has such a scientific backing. I am impressed by Pope Francis’ courage to break prior Vatican stereotypes, and I truly hope that he is setting a precedent for future religious leaders to come.
ReplyDelete