God and Nature Summer 2019
Overcoming Misconceptions: Why pastors are uniquely equipped to address environmental concerns
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By Lindsay Linsky
As we were driving down the road not long ago, my daughter looked out the car window and exclaimed, “Mommy, the sun is following me!” Of course, I thought her comment was adorable, but I told her that it only looked that way from her perspective, and the sun was not actually following her.
That little exchange got me thinking about misconceptions in science, and about how they form. As a former middle school Life Science teacher, I know how challenging misconceptions can be. Seventh graders would come into my room thinking fungi were plants and seasons were based on the Earth’s proximity to the Sun (both false!).
It’s only natural to perceive the natural world around us and draw conclusions. But getting students to let go of a misconception and accept the correct science can be a long and difficult process. Letting go of misconceptions is especially difficult when we have learned them from individuals we trust and respect— think of a child saying “My mom told me vaccines would give me autism,” for example. And as Esther Zirbel points out in her meta-analysis on conceptual change (1), it is harder to unlearn a misconception than it is to learn new things.
As we were driving down the road not long ago, my daughter looked out the car window and exclaimed, “Mommy, the sun is following me!” Of course, I thought her comment was adorable, but I told her that it only looked that way from her perspective, and the sun was not actually following her.
That little exchange got me thinking about misconceptions in science, and about how they form. As a former middle school Life Science teacher, I know how challenging misconceptions can be. Seventh graders would come into my room thinking fungi were plants and seasons were based on the Earth’s proximity to the Sun (both false!).
It’s only natural to perceive the natural world around us and draw conclusions. But getting students to let go of a misconception and accept the correct science can be a long and difficult process. Letting go of misconceptions is especially difficult when we have learned them from individuals we trust and respect— think of a child saying “My mom told me vaccines would give me autism,” for example. And as Esther Zirbel points out in her meta-analysis on conceptual change (1), it is harder to unlearn a misconception than it is to learn new things.
"Conceptual Change Theory predicts that after people see the fruitfulness of faith in Jesus, they will stay believers for life." |
Scientists are constantly battling potentially dangerous misconceptions like those surrounding vaccines. Other issues that pertain to our daily life choices are equally difficult to think about clearly. Misconceptions are arguably the biggest barrier to overcoming many of our global environmental challenges such as climate change, oceanic plastic, etc. We won’t clean up pollution if we believe it isn’t happening, or if we believe litter isn’t a problem. We need to unlearn those misconceptions first.
Fortunately, education research has studied misconceptions extensively over the past 50 years, resulting in numerous theories. The most widely accepted by far is Conceptual Change Theory, developed by Posner, Strike, Hewson, and Gertzog (2). According to Conceptual Change Theory, four things need to happen before a student will fully turn away from a misconception and adopt the correct science:
This method works well for the fungi/plant misconception, or others that are not directly related to everyday life. However, Zirbel points out that if a concept is deeply emotional for a person (like climate change), then any conceptual change efforts might be doomed to fail. In other words, don’t even bother trying to change their mind about that misconception. Move on to the next topic. But we can’t do that if we’re going to make any progress on climate change, species extinction, deforestation, urban sprawl, and so many other emotionally loaded environmental issues. So what can we do? I think we should call upon professionals that are world-class experts on conceptual change in emotionally loaded situations: pastors.
Just think of the salvation process. Conceptual change doesn’t get any bigger or more emotional than that! Let’s use the Conceptual Change framework to look at a path many unbelievers take to salvation through the care and guidance of the Holy Spirit:
Conceptual Change Theory predicts that after people see the fruitfulness of faith in Jesus, they will stay believers for life. If a pastor—through the power of the Holy Spirit, of course—can help move an atheist to become a believer, then misconceptions about environmental science should be a piece of cake!
What’s more, pastors know just how delicate they need to be in emotionally loaded situations. If an environmental science teacher tries to pile on the gloom and doom to correct misconceptions, his or her students will pull back and resist. In other words, just like shouts of “Fire and brimstone!” don’t really work that well, screaming about “Rising seas and global catastrophe!” can turn people off. It has to start with love, connection, patience, and delicate persistence.
Now, you might be thinking, pastors have enough on their plates. We can’t ask them to be our science teachers too. I understand that perspective and agree at face value. However, with so much negative environmental news constantly bombarding us, more and more congregants are turning to their pastors for direction and encouragement, which is why more and more seminaries are including creation care in their pastoral care training. For example, Columbia Theological Seminary recently hosted the Southeast Symposium for Ecologically Informed Theological Education.
But change is not happening nearly fast enough, and misconceptions still run rampant among Christians. This could possibly be because of another misconception held by many pastors: the belief that bringing up creation care in their church would cause controversy. If you are one of those pastors who hesitate on any church-based green initiative, I encourage you to read Sabrina Danielsen’s analysis “Shifting environmental beliefs among evangelicals” (3). Her research and literature analysis make a very compelling argument that many congregations would welcome green initiatives in their churches.
We need our pastors to follow in the footsteps of history’s great Christian leaders and take risks they know are right. Look at Martin Luther, Mother Teresa, John Wesley, Martin Luther King, Corrie ten Boom, and all the other great men and women God used to change the world. They were all people who didn’t let fear stop them from ruffling a few feathers or even rocking the boat and doing what needed to be done.
The time for ruffling feathers and rocking boats for God’s creation is here, no matter what the nay-sayers want to think. And I believe it’ll be the church that leads the way on this.
References:
1. Zirbel, E. (2004). Framework for conceptual change. Astronomy education review. 3(1), 62-76.
2. Posner, G., Strike, K., Hewson, P., & Gertzog, W. (1982). Accommodation of Scientific Conception: Towards a Theory of Conceptual Change. Science Education, 66 (211).
3. Danielsen, S. (2013). Fracturing over creation care? Shifting environmental beliefs among evangelicals, 1984-2010. Journal for scientific study of religion. 52 (1), 198-215.
By the grace of God, C. Lindsay Linsky is an Associate Professor of Education at The University of North Georgia. where she focuses her scholarship on environmental education and creation care. She earned her PhD in Science Education from the University of Georgia, where her dissertation centered on ocean literacy. Lindsay is a passionate advocate for creation care and helping “eco-hesitant” Christians understand the environment from a biblical perspective. She is the author of Keep It Good: Understanding Creation Care through Parables. You can contact Lindsay at [email protected]
Fortunately, education research has studied misconceptions extensively over the past 50 years, resulting in numerous theories. The most widely accepted by far is Conceptual Change Theory, developed by Posner, Strike, Hewson, and Gertzog (2). According to Conceptual Change Theory, four things need to happen before a student will fully turn away from a misconception and adopt the correct science:
- Dissatisfaction—The student must first realize: “Wait, maybe I’m wrong. There are some inconsistencies I didn’t notice before.”
- Intelligibility—The new concept must make sense, and the student should be able to explain it in her own words. But this ability to explain doesn’t necessarily mean she has adopted the concept. Plenty of people can explain the science of climate change, but they don’t “believe” it. Two more things need to be true.
- Plausibility—The new concept must make more sense than the old one and must have the capacity to solve problems and satisfy inconsistencies.
- (Most important) Fruitfulness—The new concept needs to be able to be applied elsewhere and be fruitful in other areas.
This method works well for the fungi/plant misconception, or others that are not directly related to everyday life. However, Zirbel points out that if a concept is deeply emotional for a person (like climate change), then any conceptual change efforts might be doomed to fail. In other words, don’t even bother trying to change their mind about that misconception. Move on to the next topic. But we can’t do that if we’re going to make any progress on climate change, species extinction, deforestation, urban sprawl, and so many other emotionally loaded environmental issues. So what can we do? I think we should call upon professionals that are world-class experts on conceptual change in emotionally loaded situations: pastors.
Just think of the salvation process. Conceptual change doesn’t get any bigger or more emotional than that! Let’s use the Conceptual Change framework to look at a path many unbelievers take to salvation through the care and guidance of the Holy Spirit:
- Discontent—Perhaps they find themselves unhappy and say, “The way I’m living my life isn’t working out for me.” Then, perhaps, they get invited to a church and decide to give it a try.
- Intelligibility—They learn the basics of the Gospel message and are able to explain what belief in Jesus is all about.
- Plausibility –This new way of living starts to make more sense than the old. Maybe sermons and Bible study are revealing how their previous way of life was hurting them. And, finally...
- Fruitfulness—They are able to see how faith in Jesus would benefit them in the future, not only for eternal life, but also through the fruits of the spirit and daily satisfaction and contentment.
Conceptual Change Theory predicts that after people see the fruitfulness of faith in Jesus, they will stay believers for life. If a pastor—through the power of the Holy Spirit, of course—can help move an atheist to become a believer, then misconceptions about environmental science should be a piece of cake!
What’s more, pastors know just how delicate they need to be in emotionally loaded situations. If an environmental science teacher tries to pile on the gloom and doom to correct misconceptions, his or her students will pull back and resist. In other words, just like shouts of “Fire and brimstone!” don’t really work that well, screaming about “Rising seas and global catastrophe!” can turn people off. It has to start with love, connection, patience, and delicate persistence.
Now, you might be thinking, pastors have enough on their plates. We can’t ask them to be our science teachers too. I understand that perspective and agree at face value. However, with so much negative environmental news constantly bombarding us, more and more congregants are turning to their pastors for direction and encouragement, which is why more and more seminaries are including creation care in their pastoral care training. For example, Columbia Theological Seminary recently hosted the Southeast Symposium for Ecologically Informed Theological Education.
But change is not happening nearly fast enough, and misconceptions still run rampant among Christians. This could possibly be because of another misconception held by many pastors: the belief that bringing up creation care in their church would cause controversy. If you are one of those pastors who hesitate on any church-based green initiative, I encourage you to read Sabrina Danielsen’s analysis “Shifting environmental beliefs among evangelicals” (3). Her research and literature analysis make a very compelling argument that many congregations would welcome green initiatives in their churches.
We need our pastors to follow in the footsteps of history’s great Christian leaders and take risks they know are right. Look at Martin Luther, Mother Teresa, John Wesley, Martin Luther King, Corrie ten Boom, and all the other great men and women God used to change the world. They were all people who didn’t let fear stop them from ruffling a few feathers or even rocking the boat and doing what needed to be done.
The time for ruffling feathers and rocking boats for God’s creation is here, no matter what the nay-sayers want to think. And I believe it’ll be the church that leads the way on this.
References:
1. Zirbel, E. (2004). Framework for conceptual change. Astronomy education review. 3(1), 62-76.
2. Posner, G., Strike, K., Hewson, P., & Gertzog, W. (1982). Accommodation of Scientific Conception: Towards a Theory of Conceptual Change. Science Education, 66 (211).
3. Danielsen, S. (2013). Fracturing over creation care? Shifting environmental beliefs among evangelicals, 1984-2010. Journal for scientific study of religion. 52 (1), 198-215.
By the grace of God, C. Lindsay Linsky is an Associate Professor of Education at The University of North Georgia. where she focuses her scholarship on environmental education and creation care. She earned her PhD in Science Education from the University of Georgia, where her dissertation centered on ocean literacy. Lindsay is a passionate advocate for creation care and helping “eco-hesitant” Christians understand the environment from a biblical perspective. She is the author of Keep It Good: Understanding Creation Care through Parables. You can contact Lindsay at [email protected]