The National Church Life Survey (NCLS) has found that the majority of Australian churchgoers are concerned about the current state of the environment and want the government to act.
A new report, called Views and actions of
churchgoers and leaders in caring for the environmentexamines findings from the 2016 NCLS
survey.
It finds that some 93 percent of churchgoers and 96 percent of leaders, “felt that
they had a strong Christian responsibility to care for the environment.”
The NCLS data found that nearly nine in ten churchgoers hoped that Australia would act on climate change.
Where it came to how exactly the government should address
the problem, 48 percent favoured taking action, even if this proved costly. A
further 38 percent backed more gradual steps, lower in cost. 14 percent
favoured no action until they could be sure that it was a problem.
The Uniting Church NSW and ACT Synod meeting agreed
in July to support the Strike for Climate, which takes place on Friday,
20 September.
Jonathan Foye is Insights’ Editor