Christianity and human demographic change: towards a diagnostic ethic

Abstract

Dialogue between Christianity and ecology over demographic issues is limited by four problems: a preference for the global and the apocalyptic, a preference for first order ethical approaches, lack of mutual comprehension of scientific and religious vocabularies and concepts, and inappropriate application of scriptural passages. Christian environmentalists and ethicists could enhance their understanding of demographic processes and respond more sensitively to demographic change by pursuing a diagnostic ethic that concentrates on regional data and identifies the appropriate scale of potential impacts; tests concepts on well-developed case histories; carefully identifies the specific issues, such as questions concerning women’s rights and those concerning environmental degradation; accurately describes the concerns of the people actually involved; and recognizes that religion can either significantly hinder or greatly help appropriate social response.