Abusing the Earth a sin for Brazilian Evangelicals. But will they fight for the Amazon?

When the Brazilian city of São Paulo abruptly went dark in the afternoon on August 19, there was talk of an impending rapture—not all of it in jest. Meteorologists explained that unusual wind patterns had carried smoke hundreds of miles from the burning Amazon rainforest. The smoky fog blanketing São Paulo in darkness forced 21 million city-dwellers to confront the deforestation underway in remote reaches of South America. For some conservative evangelicals, however, São Paulo’s sudden eclipse illustrated something they already believed to be true: humans have violated God’s plan for the Earth by abusing the environment, and climate change is the result.

Christians and the climate

Christian movements such as Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism aren’t often associated with environmental protection.

In a famous 1967 article in the journal Science, historian Lynn White argued that Christianity hurts the environment because the Bible teaches believers that God gave them “dominion” over the world. Therefore, Ms. White wrote, many Christians feel they may treat the Earth as they please.

Among Christians in the U.S., Evangelicals are least likely to believe that climate change is real and human-caused, according to public opinion polls and academic research.

This is not the case in Brazil. Here, Evangelicals and Pentecostals—which make up around 30 percent of the Brazilian population—are just as environmentally concerned as other religious groups, according to public opinion surveys. In fact, some studies show that church attendance actually boosts Brazilian Evangelicals’ environmental concern.

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