Moral Injury Repair and Climate Change

I am writing this while in Oxnard, California not far from where I grew up in Los Angeles. I think about the daily snippets of life here; the balmy Mediterranean climate is punctuated by natural drama. We had been on alert for the Franklin Fire in Malibu, which is finally 100% contained after nearly three weeks of intense firefighting. Yet another in a series of ever increasing devastating fires.

In church this morning during the children’s message, the pastor asked the kids, “what do you think God’s dream for God’s world is?” One child immediately said, “No more pollution”. When I was a kid, we would say “love” or “peace” or “more toys.” We didn’t know what pollution was. I think about the amount of waste I generate. I feel bad about the world they are inheriting. And on top of it all, this is a church that nearly burned down during a massive fire in 2017 that consumed 440 square miles of territory. People who live near the church are still rebuilding. Children in this community worry about the world around them.

Trained from childhood and experiencing years of drought have put me in the habit of keeping a bucket by the faucet to catch every drop of water I am able to use for watering plants or flushing the toilet. Got to catch all the water!

I fret when I see how much plastic I bring into my home, and I shove bits of it into drawers, use it to throw away refuse, reuse and reuse, because I feel ashamed when I toss it in the bin. Well, alas, woe is me!! It all ends up in the waste eventually. I feel like a thoughtless capitalist American when I open water faucets as though there is an unlimited supply, while countries in the Pacific are struggling to maintain potable water supplies, due to rising oceans. I feel guilty when I step into my 18 year old gas guzzling car to run errands. I try to walk whenever I am able, but it is difficult in this car-culture community, and of course I have all sorts of excuses for not walking: it is too far, too hot, my arthritis is acting up.

Daily snippets of life in sunny California.

If I continue this line of thinking, and it is easy to go on and on, I feel my head spinning and my guilt increasing. I know that I am not the only one and there is much more attention being given to this. In March 2023, there was an article published in The Lancet Planetary Health magazine, “Moral injury as an inclusive mental health framework for addressing climate change distress and promoting justice-oriented care.” In 2024 The Journal of Climate Change and Health published an article, “Rethinking ecoanxiety through environmental moral distress.” Ecoanxiety. Climate change distress. A journal for climate change and health actually exists! New terminology, new disciplines to address the challenges of our current era. This is our reality.

According to the Lancet article,

“Moral injury is a type of trauma that results from experiencing a moral violation. The violation can occur when one willingly or unwillingly acts against one’s sense of what is right or when an outside actor betrays one’s values…For example, some people might experience a high degree of moral injury, when feeling guilty for consuming daily necessities, knowing that the production and waste of these products contributes to climate destruction.” Yes! “Young adults facing an uncertain future might experience moral injury because they perceive political actors and institutions as failing to enact policy to curb climate change.” Yes!

Moral injury is a concept that has been wrestled with for millennia, by theologians, philosophers, warriors and poets. Over the last 20 years or so, it has been used in the context of military service to help service members repair some of the damage they have experienced to their core moral and spiritual values. Recently, moral injury has been coming up more frequently in areas outside the military, such as health care. We see it manifest as the climate crisis continues to escalate. Many people feel helpless to do anything, and in fact, are distressed to be a part of the problem, at the same time wanting and trying to be part of the solution.

One method of coping is to ignore what is happening and get on with life. But this ecological dilemma will always be here, and threatening the very future of human and all other life on earth. Another way to handle this is to come together and find ways to acknowledge the moral crisis and deal with it. We are stronger together than alone.

On 15 January, St James’s Church Piccadilly will host a webinar: Climate Change and the Transformative Power of Moral Injury Repair. As part of St James’s earth justice work, Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock and the Rev. Dr. Susan Diamond will discuss and analyse moral injury as it relates to climate change and Christian theology and engage in conversation with Deborah Colvin and attendees. The discussion will be followed by a demonstration about what religious communities can do to help people address moral injury and sustain efforts to respond to climate change personally, collectively and ritually. Everyone is very welcome to attend this introductory session. Our hope is that we will then together develop an ongoing programme of group work, ritualised response and action. For more information see https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/climate-change-and-the-transformative-power-of-moral-injury-repair/ and/or email ecochurch@sjp.org.uk

Joan Ishibashi

St James’s Earth Justice Group