The Church and Climate Change

An examination of the attitudes and practices of Cornish Anglican Churches regarding climate change

Much emphasis has recently been placed upon the environment and sustainability agenda within the Church of England. However, despite active contributions from theologians and ethicists, there has been little social scientific research into how actual churches implement their denomination’s environment and sustainability agendas. This project, focusing on the Church of England’s Diocese of Truro, examined the extent to which the environment and sustainability discourse of the Anglican Communion has resulted in appreciable changes in attitudes and actions amongst individuals who are involved in regular Anglican worship in Cornwall. Key questions included:

• Are individual parishioners concerned with the practicalities of conservation and the issues raised by climate change?
• Are theologians, ethicists and the episcopate sufficiently translating their theological, ethical and pastoral concerns into the attitudes and actions of individual parishes around the nation?

This project was directed by Dr Michael DeLashmutt and supported by the Nuffield Foundation.