Laudato siā: āScience offers faith tools amid climate crisisā
By Devin Watkins
āLaudato siā speaks to people in ways that a scientist cannot. ŠÓMAPµ¼ŗ½ Francis really gives us a gift to communicate where science plays into integral ecology, as part of a larger responsibility.ā
That remark sums up for one scientist the ŠÓMAPµ¼ŗ½ās contribution to promoting integral ecology among people of all religions.
According to Gregory Asner, a US-born climate and biodiversity scientist, faith and science can work together on the issue of climate change and are not opposed, as seen in the ŠÓMAPµ¼ŗ½ās 2015 encyclical.
Mr. Asner spoke to Jean-Charles Putzolu on the sidelines of a papal audience in the Vatican on Thursday with the Laudato siā Movement, formerly known as the Global Catholic Climate Movement.
Faith and science work together
āHearing ŠÓMAPµ¼ŗ½ Francis, the Church, and Laudato siā, I see an understanding that [the issue of climate change and biodiversity] is critical,ā said Mr. Asner. āWe have to play a role in improving our conditions across the planet for people and for nature.ā
Science and faith, he added, can āabsolutelyā work together to achieve that goal.
In his travels to many of the worldās nations, Mr. Asner noted that he often encounters the idea that science and faith are opposed to one another.
He said his upbringing showed him that the two are both important, but for different reasons.
āFaith gives us compass, understanding, and much more than science will ever give us,ā said Mr. Asner. āBut science gives us something unique: tools.ā
The tools offered by science, he added, can help us move from points A to B and improve our world.
Science offers tools
Referring to his own country of the United States, Mr. Asner said he often hears people almost raising climate change to the level of belief, saying āI donāt believe in climate change.ā
His response is that climate change is not a belief but a scientific measurement using tools.
āIt difficult for people to realize that science is not in combat with belief; itās a utility, a tool, a way to navigate forward,ā he said, offering the example of turning on a carās headlights while driving at night. āThey just show me where to go.ā
Laudato siā bridges the gap
The encyclical Laudato siā, according to Mr. Asner, bridges the gap between faith and science, calling it āsuch a unique perspective.ā
The ŠÓMAPµ¼ŗ½ās mentality, he said, is that the two work together. āBeliefāwhichever belief system you associate withācannot ignore the fact that science is speaking loudly, telling us that we have to change our habits, the way we are consuming the earthās resources, and change the stress we are putting on ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate.ā
He said humanity must ātake responsibility for what weāve been givenāthis earthāand take care of it.ā
Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here
