MPR News with Kerri Miller: Women of Faith

Women of Faith: Millennial Christians say loving God means protecting creation

Shantha Ready Alonso and Melody Zhang
Shantha Ready Alonso and Melody Zhang are fueled to fight climate change by their Christian faith.
Courtesy photos

Scientific consensus that humans are driving climate change is 97 percent among climate researchers. A survey released earlier this year found that two-thirds of Americans agree. But among Christians, that percentage is markedly lower. A 2015 Pew study found that only 28 percent of white evangelicals believe the Earth is warming because of human activity — by far the lowest percentage of any religious demographic in the survey.

But those numbers flip when it comes to Christian millennials and Generation Z. They overwhelmingly accept the scientific consensus, and they say caring for God's creation makes it imperative to do something about the warming planet before it's too late.

MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with two young environmental activists who are using faith to motivate their generation to fight climate change.

Guests:
Melody Zhang, climate justice campaign coordinator for Sojourners and co-chair of the group Young Evangelicals for Climate Action

Shantha Ready Alonso, executive director of Creation Justice Ministries

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.