In the U.S., religion and environmental care are often positioned at odds with one another. The more active one is in religious activities, the less likely they would be to describe the environment as a priority or to support efforts of environmental activities.
In my travels, I’ve found that this is an especially American phenomenon, and in most other countries, people are motivated BY their faith to take climate action.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church in particular took their environmental stewardship so seriously. A number of priests and deacons kept telling me about how at the end of things we’ll be asked to account for how we took care of creation.
It was so refreshing to hear the priests describe the integration of faith and environmental stewardship so clearly. To them, it was a no-brainer.