Young Evangelicals seek to save the Earth – and their church
Should I stay or go?
It was a question Elsa Barron had wrestled with on her own for years. Now, at a public panel on faith and the climate at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, she was on the verge of voicing it aloud to a crowd of strangers.
The panelists, faith leaders from the All Africa Conference of Churches, hadn’t named names. But Ms. Barron had gleaned the message. One of the biggest impediments to climate action in their communities was ... her home community: evangelical Americans, who hold an outsize influence in missionary ministries in Africa.
She had bitten her tongue through the Q&A session, nervous about being vulnerable in such a high-profile crowd. But just as the moderator moved to close the event, she felt her hand shoot up.
“I grew up in that community,” she recalls admitting to the panel, heart racing. “What is needed from me in this moment?”
For evangelical environmentalists, the temptation to leave the church behind and take their climate concerns elsewhere is high. This is especially true among younger generations, who, , are more likely to worry about climate change than their elders. Ms.
