Talk about It #2!
Thanks to evangelical Christian and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe for sharing this Great Idea – again – in another of her blog posts on Talking Climate.
[Read her 04.12.25 post here; her 06.07.25 post is here.]
The more recent post includes these numbers:
‘People’s Climate Vote is the world’s largest survey on climate change. You can explore your country’s results here. But the most stunning findings in this year’s survey, in my mind, are the global numbers:
- 80% want their country to do more on climate change
- 78% think their country should do more to protect people from extreme weather events
- 72% want their country to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy
- 69% said climate change was already affecting big life decisions, from where to live to what to buy
… but in most countries, the majority of people don’t talk about it—or hear anyone else talk about it—on a regular basis. As a result, all too often, they think they’re in the minority.’
In the former post – as I’ve shared in a previous Great Idea – she affirms that, ‘a new study found that the vast majority of Christian leaders in the United States – nearly 90 percent, in fact – agree that humans are changing the climate. That’s good news! What’s not so good, however, is most of them are not talking about it…
This silence has consequences. “Because of leadership’s silence on the matter, rank-and-file Christians think most of their leaders do not believe,” says author Gregg Sparkman from Boston College. The researchers also found that if churchgoers were informed about the consensus among religious leaders on the reality of climate change, they were more likely to agree with the statement that “taking action to reduce climate change” aligned with their church’s values.’
She sums up this section writing, “If religious leaders start talking about climate change, they have the ‘ability to correct widespread misperceptions, foster dialogue and encourage action in ways that secular authorities may struggle to achieve.”
…The first step to climate action is so simple we often overlook it. Talking about it affects how we see ourselves, what others around us think, whether we think there’s anything we can do about it.’
In the latter post she writes:
‘Why does this matter? Because our willingness to act is directly related to whether we think that action will make a difference. And whether we think our actions will make a difference depends on whether we think we’re acting alone, or whether we realize that many other people feel the same!’
She concludes the earlier post with her TED talk about the power of a simple conversation (here).
She also provides a list of resources in response to the question – which she is asked all the time – ‘My church wants to act on climate. Where should we start?’
Find her list here.
Her latter post concludes with a link to her videoed presentation, Finding Courage and Hope in the Climate Crisis.
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Rev. Dr. Michael Piazza reiterates – and expands the topic list – in his 06.04.25 Liberating Word post, writing, ‘Telling the truth is our responsibility. It is our only hope for fighting back. Don’t let a single deceptive post go unchallenged. Care more about the child who will go without medical care than about what your right-wing relative (or parishioner) might think of your politics. This isn’t about politics; it is about moral values and how moral or immoral we are. Silence is complicity.’
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The Ministry Lab has created a variety of Toolkits to jump-start Climate Care Conversations in your congregation, as well. Check out:
