While environmental activism is typically associated with left-wing politics, a less visible and less numerous but significant movement of conservative Christian environmentalists has emerged in France, report Emmanuel Pellat and Côme Torquebiau in the French Catholic daily La Croix (Sept. 22). These individuals and groups advocate for what they call “integral ecology”—an approach that combines environmental concern with traditional Christian values on family and bioethics, while maintaining a more moderate stance on economic transformation than their left-wing counterparts. The concept of integral ecology had been popularized by Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato si’. This approach emphasizes preserving the planet while never losing sight of humanity’s central role. The primary representative of this pro-integral ecology movement is the Current for Human Ecology (Courant pour une écologie humaine), founded in 2013 by Christians during the movement against same-sex marriage (“Manif pour tous”). The organization aimed to expand the anthropological questions raised by marriage equality and family law reforms to include ecological concerns. They believe that maintaining a habitable and lovable world requires integral ecology to permeate all human relationships, including family, neighborhood, social, and economic connections.
“Though it remains a minority movement over a decade later,” Pellat and Torquebiau write, “it has developed substantial infrastructure through annual gatherings, training sessions, and lobbying efforts to promote its particular vision of ecology.” While supporting ecological conversion, some Christian entrepreneurs deem rapid systemic change as being unrealistic and choose to advocate for green growth rather than press for a model of radical economic change. Among these Christian environmentalists, there are those who insist that green growth needs to encourage austerity and simple living, or even go as far as pleading for “degrowth” in wealthy nations. Some conservative Christian environmentalists also engage directly in politics to advance their vision, arguing that while the left has politically preempted the environmental issue, ecology actually carries a conservative dimension.
(Courant pour une écologie humaine, https://www.ecologiehumaine.eu/)
