Can I Convince them Climate Change is Real?

Dear Em and Lil,

I go to a religious organization that is politically conservative. As a lefty environmentalist, I often disagree with temple-goers about all matters non-religious. This was all well and dandy until last week, when my temple hosted a talk given by a famous (infamous) climate change denier. My two friends and I decided to go to offer a voice of descent. The speaker was almost comically horrible; he showed charts that grossly misrepresented the data (cherry picking short stints in which the weather was cool & other stuff like that). 

Our comments absolutely did nothing to move the crowd or the speaker. If anything, the polarization almost inflamed everyone more and caused people to dig in their heels.

I think it is important to try to 'convert' climate change deniers. How do you suggest I go about conversations with climate deniers? How do I let them keep their world view while simultaneously sliding our way?

-Frustrated Environmentalist

LIL: Since it’s clearly possible for the temple to host talks like this, find out about the process and see if you and your friends could suggest a speaker yourselves. Then, look into the climate action work that other branches of your religion are involved with. Many faiths have organizers working on these issues, including teaching us to talk to each other about it. Bringing in someone from within your faith could be especially beneficial for several reasons. First, the community could be less likely to see it as a “your side got one, so our side gets one” demand. Second, religious leaders often have experience with mediation, which can help turn this from an argument where people show up say the things they already believe to a conversation where they are open to learning something new. And, religious leaders always have experience with grief, which is a huge part of what we’re dealing with in the climate change discussion—denial included.

Whether or not that first suggestion is even possible, in your one-to-one conversations with people, try to find silver linings and middle ground positions to start out. For example, “I didn’t agree with everything he said, but I’m definitely glad he started us talking about climate change at the temple!” Approaching the topic with insane levels of diplomacy like this takes time and patience. But the thing is, within a religious community, the goal isn’t to bring more people over to your political side. The goal is to get more people thinking about climate justice as not a political issue at all but an act of faith. 

There can be a tendency for some “lefty environmentalists” to write off religious people as a lost cause when it comes to issues like this. But for those of us who are both of these things, we know that’s not true! You’re in a really special position because you exist in two seemingly opposing spaces, which proves that it’s possible. Even though this has been a demoralizing experience, don’t lose faith in your temple. Remember to notice and appreciate all the things you love about the services and community— to continue showing up and building connections. Don’t let this push you out of a place that is for you as much as it is for any of the people on “the other side.” Even if there’s no one else in the congregation who believes in climate change, I have to believe that there are people who wouldn’t want to lose you from the temple because of it.

EM: This sounds like an exceptionally bad presentation. It is natural to be angry at climate deniers, who are actively endangering folks around the world and generations to come. However, if you have any intention of convincing your fellow parishioners, you are going to need to let go of the resentment you feel and try to see things from their perspective.

In order to convince anyone at any time, you are going to need to let that person save face. Shaming someone about how wrong they are can feel good but it will win you no converts.

It is very possible to ‘win’ the argument while completely humiliating your opponent and failing to convince them to your side. In fact, if you are thinking about any conversational partner as an opponent, the chances of convincing are slim to zero.

Before you get into your arguing, let’s level with the facts here. It is probably that folks at your temple are using religion to support their desire to keep denying climate change. Denying climate change is clearly the more comfortable/convenient position because it requires little action and maintains the status quo.

Religion/scripture has been exploited to support basically any position in the book. (Please forgive me for narrowing my description to the Judeo-Christian tradition because I am not sufficiently aware of other religious traditions.)

The Bible, for instance, has been used throughout time to both justify and condemn things. Take slavery as a poignant example.In Ephesians 6:6-8, Paul states, “Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ” which is Paul instructing slaves to obey their master. On a contradictory note, on the way to Canaan, God tells his people through Moses that the alien, or foreigner, among them should not be oppressed (Exodus 23:9). Does the Bible justify or condemn slavery? I don’t know, and neither does anyone. That is the entire point!

Back to convincing. How is it done?

  1. Step into their perspective.

    Learn the top five arguments against the truism of climate change. Hone a respectful and accurate counter argument to each of them. The goal here is not to make a gotcha, but engage thoughtfully with each point. Steel man, don’t straw man the arguments. Assume that these folks aren’t stupid, but that they have encountered different arguments than you have. Pepper your arguments with expressions like, “I thought that too before I saw…”, and “that makes sense, and let’s put it into a wider context.” 

  2. Lean into your commonalities. 

    It is likely that the parishioners are starting to see you as the ‘other’. They probably see themselves as folks with conservative/religious values and you as folks without sufficient trust in God. These folks are way more likely to come over to your side if they see you as a peer rather than an outsider.

    Use language that resonates with the parishioners. Perhaps something like “God wants us to take responsibility” or whatever makes sense according to your particular tradition. Bonus points for actually quoting scripture/passages that emphasizes the importance of caring for our earth. 

  3. Appeal to authority.

    Find examples of cherished conservative leaders being conservationists. Give them the impression that lots of folks are climate advocates, in fact it is surprising that they haven’t joined their fellow conservationist conservatives yet! 

  4. Compliment the heck out of them. 

    Let’s remember that this is almost impossible to work. People are fickle and convincing can only go so far. But on the off chance that they are convinced, be sure not to gloat. Praise them for coming over to the right side. Finally, make sure not to leave them with environmental existential dread by giving them one small eco action step. (Canvas bags is an extremely accessible switch). Go earth! Let us all live together in harmony with nature for generations and generations.  

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