Connecting Knowledge, Belief, Values and Action: Informing Climate Literacy by Using Autobiographies to Articulate Environmental Worldviews

Climate literacy is evolving as a specific subset of science and environmental literacy. Through a longitudinal analysis of environmental autobiographies of an internationally and religiously diverse group of environmental sciences majors at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the southern U.S., this presentation will explore: 1) sources and impact of religious beliefs on students' environmental worldview; 2) conflicts between religious, community and scientific values; and 3) navigating the tensions between trust in a religious deity as well as scientific methods and processes. Lester Milbrath states that "beliefs empower and deceive us." The media, as well as significant people and institutions, including religious institutions, socialize us and contribute to individual and societal worldviews. "We so thoroughly accept our culture's beliefs about how the world works that we hardly ever think about them even though they underlie everything we think and do." Beliefs, attitudes, and values comprise an important component of environmental literacy, a praxis-oriented concept from the field of environmental education, which is defined as: [T]he capacity to perceive and interpret the relative health of environmental systems and take appropriate action to maintain, restore, or improve the health of those systems . . . Environmental literacy should be defined in terms of observable behaviors. (Disinger and Roth 1992, 2). Environmental literacy draws upon six areas: environmental sensitivity; knowledge; skills; beliefs, attitudes and values; personal investment and responsibility; and active involvement. It involves particular ways of thinking, acting, and valuing (Roth 1992). Religious beliefs, or lack thereof, shape worldviews, thereby influencing individual and societal environmental and more specifically, climate literacy. For example, Western Christianity espouses a hierarchical anthropocentric worldview, putting God infinitely above human beings, and human beings above nature. The creation stories of Genesis have been used both implicitly and explicitly to justify domination and exploitation of the earth and its resources. Autobiographies may be used as a reflective pedagogical tool to help students to identify various components of their respective environmental worldviews that may influence their overall environmental and climate literacy. Narrative responses to guiding questions prompt students to reflect on beliefs, trust, and values. This research will inform the development of culturally relevant and scientifically sound approaches to climate change education.