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The original was posted on /r/collapse by /u/AdiweleAdiwele on 2024-07-14 16:41:47+00:00.

I think there are at least three domains through which we can expect how the world’s religions will react (or, if they’re ahead of the curve, are reacting) and will be affected by the coming collapse; practical, ethical and eschatological:

Practical: how will everyday practice, leadership and worship be affected?

Ethical: what sort of messages regarding society and the environment do they give out? Will this change?

Eschatological: how will collapse affect their view of the End Times, if such a thing applies?

[Just a caveat that I’m not a sociologist or anything of the sort, just a collapsenik with an armchair interest in religion, and that the above list is by no means exhaustive; if you think there are any other axes along which we can try and measure religion vis. collapse I would love to hear your thoughts]

Catholic, Orthodox and mainline Protestant Christianity:

Practical: these churches are hierarchically-organised and struggled in the pandemic by not being able to offer their parishioners the sacraments, which are the focus of their worship and practice. As chaos sets in around the world I anticipate a similar kind of institutional crisis taking place, and when government authority breaks down it’s not hard to imagine clerical authority going down with it.

Ethical: heads of these churches (particularly Pope Francis) have emphasised the importance of good stewardship of the environment and taking care of creation, but at an institutional level appear wedded to the BAU model. Arch-conservatives in their ranks are openly hostile to climate science.

Eschatological: although Christianity is an apocalyptic religion at heart, these denominations are typically very cautious when discussing the End Times. That said, I anticipate there will be an upwards-facing ripple effect of speculation when shit really starts hitting the fan.

Evangelical/non-mainline Protestant Christianity:

Practical: in some respects, better-poised than the Christian denominations mentioned above, as the emphasis is on scripture and one’s personal relationship with God rather than participating in sacraments, although the declining feasibility of attending church will throw a lot of people for a wobble.

Ethical: climate skepticism amongst Evangelicals, particularly in the USA, seems really high. I imagine some will welcome collapse for eschatological reasons (a desire to accelerate into the Rapture), some will remain stubbornly skeptical of climate science, and the more cautious will be sensible and point to scripture as justification for taking care of the planet.

Eschatological: End Times rhetoric will go through the roof. A great many Evangelicals preach about it even at the best of times.

Islam:

Practical: not as hierarchical as Christianity on the whole, and no equivalent to sacraments received in a place of worship, so there will be less of an institutional crisis. That said, pilgrimage to Mecca is pretty central to Islam, and there is a good chance this will become highly impractical (if not impossible) when collapse really starts to bite.

Ethical: from what I have read Islam encourages good environmental stewardship, although the extent to which this is taken onboard appears patchy (cf. Saudi Arabia).

Eschatological: as with Christianity, Islam is an apocalyptic religion, so End Times speculation will almost certainly increase.

Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism and any others not listed:

I have read that according to some schools of Hindu thought, we are currently in the ‘Kali Yuga’ or a protracted age of chaos, and so collapse may not come as a huge surprise to many. That said, I’m not as well informed about how these faiths operate from a practical and creedal POV, and would welcome any input.