The Earth as Man’s Possession?

Abstract

This chapter takes up the Tea Party assumption, aligned with American history and religious faith, that the earth is a gift of man’s Creator. The chapter examines the current confrontation between faith and fact over global warming in the context of the creation story retold by evolution, but, nonetheless, seriously contested by the advocates of “creationism” and “intelligent design.” It has not been an academic controversy, but rather enormously influential in shaping citizen resistance to the fact of climate change with public opinion shaped almost as much by faith and political ideology as by scientific fact. The chapter ends with an illustrative story about a businessman straddling the fence between Tea Party priorities and those of his family.