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Faith Based Environmental Stewardship: Practices and Attitudes of Christian Churches on Virginia’S Northern Neck and Eastern Shore

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Faith Based Environmental Stewardship: Practices and Attitudes of Christian Churches on Virginia’S Northern Neck and Eastern Shore Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2010 FAITH BASED ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ON VIRGINIA’S NORTHERN NECK AND EASTERN SHORE Paoula Sehannie Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2325 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Paoula Sehannie Paoula Sehannie© December 2010 Paoula Sehannie ii FAITH BASED ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ON VIRGINIA‘S NORTHERN NECK AND EASTERN SHORE A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Director: Dr. Deirdre M. Condit Distinguished Professor, Public Policy and Education Former Dean, School of Education Executive Director, Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs By Paoula Sehannie Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia December 2010 Paoula Sehannie iii Acknowledgement To My Family Doctor Paoula Sehannie, who would have imagined it? It has been a long trip and none of it would have been possible without you. In keeping with the Sehannie nature I will keep this brief; you are the best. To my sister Lisa thanks for just being my crazy sister. This achievement belongs as much to my family as it does to me. Dr Cliff Fox and Dr Deirdre Condit I will thank you both together because you are equally responsible for my success in reaching this point. Dr Fox, thank you for your years of support and for believing in me and my ideas. Thank you for being the voice of reason and reining me in, but also for letting me wander and explore and learn. This has been a long process and I could not have navigated it without your guidance, patience and support. To Dr Condit: thank you also for your help and support on this dissertation. But thank you also for your years as a mentor. You have been for me a model of intelligence, strength and compassion. My Committee, Drs Helen Ruth Aspaas and Greg Garman Thank you both for joining this project fairly late in the process. I am grateful for your willingness to take on this task and for the thoughtful insights and contributions you made to my work. Paoula Sehannie iv Tables of Contents List of tables ............................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................. vii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 - 11 Terminology ............................................................................................................... 8 Environmental Ethics ............................................................................................. 9 Eco-theology ......................................................................................................... 9 Creation Care ...................................................................................................... 10 Social Embeddedness ......................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ........................................................................ 12 - 67 Religion; The Historical Roots of the Environmental Crisis? .................................... 19 The Lynn White Effect ......................................................................................... 19 Stewardship versus Dominion ............................................................................. 29 Human/Nature Dualisms ..................................................................................... 39 Paganism versus Christianity .............................................................................. 46 In Defense of Religion ......................................................................................... 50 Non-Christian Perspectives ................................................................................. 76 ―The Business of Character Cultivation‖ ................................................................... 82 Ideological ........................................................................................................... 83 Practical .............................................................................................................. 97 The Church as an Agent of Social Change ............................................................ 107 The Separation of Church and State ................................................................. 108 The Church in Public Life .................................................................................. 111 A Shift in Thinking .................................................................................................. 118 Religious Dissenters .......................................................................................... 119 Paoula Sehannie v The Faith-Based Movement .............................................................................. 131 The Academic/Theological Movement .............................................................. 137 Environmentalism in the Church Hierarchy ....................................................... 141 Secular and Religious Partnerships .................................................................. 152 Environmentalism in Local Churches ................................................................ 155 Chapter 3: Methodology ..................................................................................... 167 - 189 Population and Sample .......................................................................................... 171 Population ......................................................................................................... 173 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 174 Variables ................................................................................................................ 175 Independent Variables ...................................................................................... 175 Dependent Variables ......................................................................................... 176 Measurement ......................................................................................................... 179 Descriptive Statistics ......................................................................................... 179 Inferential Statistics ........................................................................................... 180 Confidentiality ......................................................................................................... 181 Validity and Reliability ............................................................................................ 182 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 184 Rival Hypotheses ................................................................................................... 185 Future Research Directions .................................................................................... 187 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 188 Limitations of the Current Study ............................................................................. 189 Chapter 4: The Northern Neck of Virginia .......................................................... 190 - 210 Environment ........................................................................................................... 202 Market Research .................................................................................................... 205 Chapter 4: The Eastern Shore of Virginia ........................................................... 211 - 228 Environment ........................................................................................................... 224 Market Research .................................................................................................... 227 Paoula Sehannie vi Chapter 6: Results.............................................................................................. 228 - 247 Chapter 7: Discussion ........................................................................................ 248 - 262 Environmental Policy Implications ...................................................................... 258 - 262 References ......................................................................................................... 262 - 289 Appendices ................................................................................................................
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