Rector’s Reflections
Thursday 20th June 2024
How Should a Christian Vote?
In the previous two reflections, I have suggested that when we come to consider how we should cast our vote, we ask ourselves two questions: how will my vote promote the Common Good? How will my vote be of benefit to the most vulnerable in our society? We can have different views as to the answer these questions, and that’s ok. But I think it is important to at least have considered these questions.
There is a another question which I think it is important for us to ask ourselves: how will our vote promote care for the Environment? How will our vote address the challenges presented by Climate Change? This is such a huge question, and so I think it is perfectly acceptable to limit ourselves to one particular issue, which might be close to our hearts or have a significant impact on our day to day lives. For example, we might care passionately about preserving and promoting biodiversity in our local communities. Or we might be concerned about the quality of the water in our river systems. Or we might be worried about changes to agriculture, and the impact these changes may have on our ability to feed ourselves. Or we might be concerned about developing and sustaining more sustainable transport networks. Care for the Environment expresses itself in so many different ways.
You may ask yourself: why should care for the Environment be of particular concern for Christians? There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, care for the Environment is increasingly seen as one of the most effective ways in which the contemporary Church can share the love of God with its communities. It is, of course, not the only way. But care for the Environment is increasingly accepted as a normal aspect of the mission of the Church. You may remember that one of the Church of England’s Five Marks of Mission is “ to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth”. Secondly, care for the Environment is often closely linked to care for the most vulnerable, in this country and around the world. Why is this? It is because it is the most vulnerable who tend to suffer the most from extreme weather conditions. Some people would also draw attention to the painful irony of this situation: those whose life styles have contributed the least to Climate Change often end up suffering the most.
So I think it is important for Christians to consider how our vote will promote care for the Environment, and how it will address the challenges presented by Climate Change. I am aware that there are some people, and some Christians, who do not consider that there is an obligation to care for the Environment; and that there are some people who think that there is no such thing as Climate Change, or that if Climate Change does exist, there is no point worrying about it or allowing it to change the way we choose to lives our lives or structure our economy and society. However, I think this is a minority position. There is of course nothing wrong in holding a minority view on this or any other issue, provided it is recognised that it is not view which is shared by most people.
It is also perfectly acceptable to disagree about the best way to care for the Environment, and how best to meet the challenges present by Climate Change. There is room for many different approaches, and a variety of solutions, depending on the circumstances of each particular situation. For example, is there a place for Nuclear Power in “Green” energy generation? Can we reasonably expect Nuclear Fusion to come to our rescue in the foreseeable future? Do we all have to become vegetarians, or at least eat much less meat? People hold different views on such questions.
My final comment is that it is often the case that caring for the Environment needs to be balanced with other considerations. In many situations, it will be possible to come up with win-win solutions. For example, if we are worried about the economy, Environmentally friendly technologies can provide a welcome source of reasonably well-paid jobs. However, there will be those situations where we are faced with a conflict between our desire to care for the Environment, and our desire to promote some other equally worthy goal. It might be that after due consideration, we reach the conclusion that non-environmental considerations need to outweigh purely Environmental ones. But at least we have realised there is a question to be asked, and we have allowed ourselves to ask it.