In the middle of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s white, sterile student center, one man sits alone at a round, white table. The other dozens of tables are empty, but his is stacked with a computer, piles of notes and three books. He describes himself as “the old guy” by the staircase.   

On a Friday afternoon, the seminary is quiet, despite the unavoidable commotion due to its location on Chef Menteur Highway, across from a Chevron station and a Church’s Texas Chicken restaurant.  

Jeffrey Riley has worked at the seminary for 22 years. Before he moved to New Orleans, he was a pastor in Texas. He is an occasional preacher at the nearby Edgewater Baptist Church but usually is just a loyal attendee.  

“If you don’t believe that Jesus is risen from the dead … that God is the Creator of the heavens and the Earth,” Riley said, “then you really are not a Christian. You may say you are, but you’re something else.” 

 

Southern Baptism in Louisiana 

Riley identifies as a Southern Baptist.  

His denomination represents the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, 12% of Louisianans, 1,644 churches in Louisiana, over $229 million in assets under management by the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the religion of the Louisiana-born U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.   

84% of Louisiana citizens are Christian, and the plurality of Louisiana Christians are evangelical Protestants. The plurality of evangelical Protestants are Baptist, and the plurality of Baptists are of the Southern Baptist variety. 

75% of Louisiana citizens are absolutely certain that God exists. 71% say that religion is very important in their lives. 

Southern Baptism is a distinct sect of Christianity. The Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 in order to create a Christian defense for slavery, a history it has tried to reckon with since. In 2012, the SBC elected Fred Luter Jr., its first Black president and a New Orleans native. The idle student center where Riley sits is named in Luter’s honor. 

“The belief system that went into the support for the institution of slavery is still very much there,” Tulane University political science instructor Andrew Ward said regarding the SBC. “It is about submission. It is about hierarchical power. It is about patriarchy.”  

Ward is a world-renowned expert on the rise of Christian nationalism, the title of one of his classes.  

Part of Ward’s class explores how those who shaped the legacy of the Christian right also worked with the SBC: Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Mike Huckabee and so on. 

Some of the values considered to define the Southern Baptist movement are actually addendums to its original stances; for example, the SBC was pro-choice until the leaders of the Christian right decided to make it a key political issue years after the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision, which the SBC came out in support of. 

Another view now shared between the Christian right and the SBC: climate change denial. 

Amidst the hurricanes, floods, wildfires, rising sea levels, agricultural declines and health crises Louisiana has suffered due to climate change, its petrochemical perpetrators remain dominant in Louisiana politics, supported by both voters and public officials. 

Riley is a respected voice among climate change deniers in the Southern Baptist community. He has worked with the Cornwall Alliance, an evangelical Christian organization whose mission is to “save the planet from the people who are saving the planet.”  

In 2014, Riley signed a declaration by the Cornwall Alliance called “Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies.” He is listed as both an original signatory and a notable signatory.  

The declaration was published in response to former President Barack Obama’s climate change policy proposals. It contains many disproved claims: that rising levels of carbon dioxide benefit “all life on Earth,” or that “mandatory reductions in CO2 emissions, pursued to prevent dangerous global warming, would have little or no discernible impact on global temperatures.” 

Today, Riley is a professor and associate dean of graduate studies at the seminary. He has a Ph.D. in ethics and theology from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Riley credits the verse Genesis 1:28 as the root of Christian environmentalism.  

“And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth,’” one version of the verse reads. 

Riley believes that the terms “subdue” and “dominion” — “dominion” is used in other versions of the verse — have been misunderstood by both Christians and non-Christians.   

“They don’t carry with them the meaning of violence or abuse. They carry more the idea of responsibility and stewardship,” he said.  

“You can wiggle those words to mean whatever you want them to mean,” Ward said. “Who is he promising that he’s not oppressing? … Who is he promising that he [doesn’t have] free reign over?” 

Riley believes that verse 28 has been misused in order to charge Christians with environmental degradation, and that this scapegoating became prominent when, in 1967, historian Lynn White Jr. published “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis.” 

“God planned all of this explicitly for man’s benefit and rule: no item in the physical creation had any purpose save to serve man’s purpose,” White wrote of Christian ideology. “We shall continue to have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man.” 

 

Hot and cold: climate denial and evangelical Christians 

A 2022 poll found that evangelical Protestants are the religious group most likely to not consider climate change a serious problem; nearly two-thirds believe that global warming is either a natural process or not happening at all. Riley shares this skepticism. 

“Look at the history of science and all the changes that are made,” he said. “All I’m asking for here is we’ve gotta be cautious about making these broad statements about catastrophe and global warming that is caused by a human footprint.”  

But evangelical Christians did not always have such a contentious relationship with environmental science.  

In 1992, an interfaith assemblage of religious leaders, along with scientists and politicians, met at the U.S. Capitol to facilitate environmental advocacy and demand government action. The group included Richard Land, a leader of the SBC, conservative ideologue, and 1972 graduate from NOBTS.  

According to The New York Times, Land found common ground with the other religious leaders on one issue: “The Earth is dying, and only human beings can save it.” 

That same year, other leaders of the evangelical Christian movement began to minimize calls for environmental advocacy in their rhetoric. By 1993, the discussion of environmental protection in the evangelical movement was replaced by climate change denial, which staunchly remains the position today. 

Ward claims this hard turn toward climate change denial is no coincidence. 

After the Cold War ended in 1991, “America was trying to figure out who the hell we were,” Ward said. The following year, Bill Clinton was elected, breaking the chain of twelve years of Republicans in the White House.  

The Christian right wanted to fight the liberal takeover; organizations like the Council for National Policy and the Christian Coalition “did everything they could to find more people to enter their tent,” Ward said.  

They searched for pastoral leaders, theological leaders, political leaders and most importantly, “people with deep pockets.” 

In the hunt for generous benefactors, the Christian right targeted the major American industry that is known to be predominantly politically conservative: oil and gas. A “symbiotic relationship” was formed so the Christian right and the oil industry could both benefit from a political, financial and cultural unification, Ward said. 

The scientific denial literally preached by the Christian right is a direct result of the vast amounts of money that tie the petrochemical industry to Christian nationalism. 

 

Differing perspectives on Christianity and environmentalism 

But Christianity and science are not always at odds. The two can even be found in the same person.  

On the western side of Broadway Street, situated in between a dozen frat houses and America’s #1 college bar, is The Chapel of the Holy Spirit. The chapel is humble: a one-floor building with a small worship room, a few multipurpose rooms and two gardens in the front and back. 

The chapel is also the office of Pastor Watson Lamb, the Tulane chaplain.  

Lamb also teaches Urban Gardening, a service-learning class. Most of the class is spent outside. Every week, Lamb meets his students in the fenced-in garden hidden in the shadow of a gray, boxy freshman dorm. He teaches the students how to grow whatever they choose — basil, carrots, kale, lettuce, collard and mint seeds are all included in his offerings.  

Urban Gardening also consists of the philosophical study regarding man’s relationship with nature. Lamb explores a variety of viewpoints on environmental philosophy, ranging from Aldo Leopold to Aristotle. But at the beginning of the semester, he defines his own.  

“Theocentric is basically God-centered,” Lamb said. “We call it creation, and we think of it in terms of ‘creation care.’ Of course, we have the Bible and the scriptural texts that talk about the beginning of time and all that. But within the story, you have a moral imperative to care for — care for the land, care for the environment, care for the world.”  

As an Episcopalian, Lamb sees “creation care” as a core tenet of his faith.  

“In the beginning, when God created and said [creation] was good, because God said it is good, it is therefore something worth taking care of. It is something worth respecting and learning from.” 

Lamb’s romance with nature began as a child. His grandfather was a soil physicist for the Department of Agriculture who brought work home — as a kid, Lamb played in his grandfather’s massive garden and greenhouse and ran in the woods behind his house. 

“The outdoors is where I feel more at home.” 

While both Lamb and Riley place emphasis on environmental stewardship and theocentric philosophy, Lamb differs greatly from Riley, and not just because of the tattoos. 

Lamb is a member of the Episcopal Church’s Environmental Commission of the Diocese of Louisiana. One of the four key goals of the commission is “to educate the members of the Episcopal Church in Louisiana about current environmental issues, and how those issues affect the continued livability of our region and our world.” 

The Episcopal Church is heavily involved in climate change action. In 2018, the church passed a resolution to commit to the Paris Agreement and use it to inform pastoral teachings. It also emphasized the importance of renewable energy and international joint action on climate change. 

That was four years after Riley signed the Cornwall Alliance’s declaration, calling for the end of Obama’s climate change policy ambitions that he voiced at a United Nations conference.  

Less than one percent of Louisianians identify as Episcopalian Christians. There are a mere 54 congregations in the state, meaning the religion is 97% smaller than Southern Baptism in Louisiana. 

Lamb subscribes to the view of Martin Luther, who, legend has it, when asked what he would do if the world ended tomorrow, said, “I would plant an apple tree today.”  

“It’s in that line of theological understanding that you get the Christian environmentalism,” Lamb said. 

Riley believes that environmental stewardship and care is defining of his Christianity. 

He said that when looking at the communities that have committed the most environmental harm, “it’s not those cultures in which Christians have had the most influence.” He said that countries that have the most pollution, such as China or India, exemplify this.  

According to Climate Action Tracker, the United States and the European Union stand alongside China and India as the world’s biggest polluters. 

Other countries among the top 20 climate polluters include Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Argentina – overwhelmingly Christian nations. 

Louisiana is one of the most Christian states in the country; it is also the most polluted. 

Riley believes “scientific materialism” is more to blame for environmental degradation.  

“To just use the environment instrumentally, without recognition that there’s an inherent value to the earth and to creation and to resources is, I think, a position that is matured more out of materialism and Darwinianism [Darwinism] than out of the Christian faith.” 

Darwinism, also known as the theory of evolution, has been undermined in Louisiana education for decades.  

Noting that some “Darwinians” would disagree with his interpretation, Riley said that Darwinism maintains “that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, and it’s the ones who have the most power who win. And that if the goal is for your genes to continue on, and if you have to exercise power to do that, then really, the environment doesn’t matter.” 

According to Ward, the argument that Darwinism leads to a morally bankrupt world is commonplace in Christian nationalism. 

“Reality itself is unappealing to the leaders of the Christian nationalist movement, and so they harken back to a mythical past and try to drive us on to a bright and shining future,” he said. “Why is it bright and shining? Because everyone who isn’t a Christian nationalist is being incinerated.” 

Both Riley and Lamb consider themselves Christian environmentalists. Both are men of the cloth, fathers, husbands, college professors and Southern natives. However, both men represent disparate schools of thought on the existence of climate change in the Christian community. These schools of thought are constantly at odds in Louisiana, one of the states most impacted by climate change.  

According to Ward, although many share the umbrella term of “Christian,” sects under that umbrella can have vastly different, even opposing, views. 

“What’s the difference between … [an] ultra-orthodox Jew in Brooklyn and a Reform Jew that goes to the temple on the high holidays?”  

Belief in Christianity, science, and climate change must reckon with another major cultural force in Louisiana: oil.  

 

Oil and the Christian right 

“Many oil executives were outspoken evangelicals who saw their business and service to the church as one vocation,” Darren Dochuk, author of ‘How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America,’ said in an interview with The Gospel Coalition, a Reformed fellowship of evangelical churches.  

“Meanwhile, countless geologists, drillers, and roughnecks worked the oil fields with strong adherence to the Bible and a conviction that Christian principles informed their labors. So yes, I’d claim that there has always been a special affinity for the oil business among evangelicals.” 

Louisiana’s energy production accounts for one-sixth of the United State’s crude oil refining capacity and 10% of the U.S.’s total marketed natural gas production.  

Shell Oil is a major employer in Louisiana; in 2019, it accounted for 10% of all oil and gas jobs in the state.  

It is also a major donor to Christian causes. In 2022, the Shell Foundation donated $15,140 to the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board, $17,986 to the Louisiana address of the Southern Baptist Foundation, $2,000 to the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home & Family Ministries and $17,452 to NOBTS. Tens of thousands of dollars were given to other evangelical and Southern Baptist organizations across the Gulf Coast. 

The Shell Foundation also donated $23,321 to the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank with strong ties to the evangelical Christian right, and the publisher of Project 2025, an agenda intended for incoming president Donald Trump’s term. Project 2025 includes policies supporting the petrochemical industry and threatening the future of renewable energy. 

Petrochemical energy is a key part of the Southern Baptist message against climate change policies.  

In a 2015 article published by NOBTS, Riley stated that humans are stewards of the earth. 

“Those of us who have been redeemed by Christ Jesus have an obligation to represent the interests of the living God regarding issues that affect the earth, serious issues that directly impact human flourishing,” he wrote. “In many cases, who flourishes depends on flawed human beings making evaluations.” 

One example he provided of flawed evaluations: “A scientist declares that humans are causing catastrophic global warming, majority world nations are forced to cut cheap energy sources, and the poor are devastated.” 

In 2016, Riley spoke to the Baptist Press, the official news service of the SBC, about political efforts to combat climate change. “Threat is not the best way forward. The better way is to continue to research clean and efficient energy, support a clean use of fossil fuels, and let the scientific method continue to work on determining cause for current climate trends.”  

Fossil fuel energy is a common reference in Southern Baptist statements about climate change. In the aforementioned declaration Riley signed by the Cornwall Alliance, called “Protect the Poor,” four of the ten goals reference fossil fuels. 

According to Riley, he has met and discussed environmental issues with E. Calvin Beisner, founder of the Cornwall Alliance.  

“There are strong theological and scientific reasons to deny catastrophic, manmade global warming, and powerful ethical and economic reasons to reject the energy policies promoted to fight it,” Beisner wrote in his article “Revisiting ‘climate change denialism.’” 

Former Vice President Mike Pence, assumedly picked by Trump because of his political connections to the evangelical right, said that the pillars of American greatness are faith, freedom and natural resources.  

“Many, many, many other people in the oil and natural gas world…are big bankrollers of the evangelical movement,” Ward said. 

Furtive billionaire Phil Anschutz is a shadow donor whose deep pockets connect oil and gas, politics, and the Christian Right. His dozens of business ventures include producing New Orleans’ very own Jazz Fest and oil company The Anschutz Exploration Corporation.  

Anschutz has received bad publicity over his generous donations to Christian nationalist organizations such as the Family Research Council, the National Christian Foundation and the anti-climate science organization The Discovery Institute. His relationship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has raised questions about his influence in anti-environment court decisions. 

For some, oil and faith are fused into one identity.  

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship distributes its signature Oil Patch Bibles at oil fields across the world. Dubbed “God’s Word for the Oil Patch, Fuel for the Soul,” it is the first bible tailored for the oil industry. For OCF, the oil rig is another evangelizing opportunity. They have three chapters in Louisiana. 

Riley believes that energy may be a common concern for “Christian ethicists” because decisions regarding energy are made without considering the unintended consequences on local economies and lives.   

“When you say we’re going to cut energy here, here, and here, the first ones that lose power are usually the poor,” he said.  

Riley believes that the push for renewable energy is not out of malice, but out of a lack of consideration for “unintended consequences,” a concept he emphasized greatly.  

One example is coal mining.  

“Coal mining can be destructive, and it has been. It has been done wrong before,” he said. But according to him, banning coal is not the solution. 

Riley stressed the potential negative impacts on humans due to environmental policies.  

“What do you do with all the coal miners?” he said. “There are people who make a living providing what coal mines need to do the work…There are whole communities that are profoundly impacted.” 

 

The future of energy and evangelicalism in Louisiana 

The fossil fuel industry is an economic, political and cultural dominator on the Gulf Coast. It employs entire towns, providing them with energy, wages and a sense of identity. It is supported by the state’s most powerful politicians and the people who elect them.  

It is also the unequivocal cause of climate change and Louisiana’s resulting natural disasters. 

The current state of Louisiana politics is taking an aggressive turn towards increasing both Christian ideals in the public sphere and the use of petrochemical energy.  

In August, Gov. Jeff Landry, a devout Catholic and avid climate denier, passed a bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be put in every public classroom in the state. The law is currently going through a series of court battles on the grounds that it defies the separation of church and state. 

In October, Landry signed a proclamation designating natural gas as clean energy. During the Biden administration, as the former state Attorney General, Landry instigated several lawsuits against the federal government in order to ramp up oil and gas production, working with organizations like the American Petroleum Institute.  

After his gubernatorial victory in 2023, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association published a jubilant statement: “Republican Jeff Landry’s victory in Louisiana’s gubernatorial election promises to further empower the fossil fuel industry in a top oil-producing state that’s grappling with climate impacts…He’s been less friendly toward renewable energy.”   

Landry is one of many evangelical-backed, oil-supporting politicians elected in Louisiana.   

Political support for oil and gas in Louisiana is matched by popular support. A 2024 survey by Louisiana State University found that 75% of Louisianans support the expansion of offshore drilling, even though 72% support an expansion of solar panel farms. Only 19% of residents believe the renewable energy transition would reduce extreme weather events in Louisiana. 

 

“In a fallen world” 

 While evangelical Christians disdain climate panic, alarm for the future is no foreign concept.  

The first words one will hear on the NOBTS YouTube channel: “The world that we live in is incredibly broken.” 

The video is titled “Prepare Here. Serve Anywhere.”  

It doesn’t elaborate much on why the world that we live in is incredibly broken, but it shows a few clips of the crowded city of Hyderabad, India, then a young boy of color drinking water, and then a woman in traditional Indian garb performing some sort of manual labor. 

The man’s soft voice behind the video continues. 

“Everywhere you look, you see hostility, you see confusion, you see people that are hurting. You ever think that God might be calling you into that darkness? And maybe God is calling you into the ministry?” 

Riley believes that no matter what kind of Christian you are, your duty is to glorify God.  

“In a fallen world, that’s a complicated thing,” he said. “Because the fall mars the glory of God.” 

According to Riley, humanity entered “the fallen world” when Adam and Eve decided to take that juicy bite of forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. After that: horror.  

Riley said every bad thing in the bible took place in the fallen world: the Genesis flood, the famine that spread through Egypt, the horrific storms in Exodus, deadly diseases and so on.  

“In the coming decades, Louisiana will become warmer, and both floods and droughts may become more severe,” the Environmental Protection Agency wrote in a 2016 report. “Soils have become drier, annual rainfall has increased, more rain arrives in heavy downpours, and sea level is rising. Our changing climate is likely to increase damages from floods, reduce crop yields and harm fisheries, increase the number of unpleasantly hot days, and increase the risk of heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses.” 

In the fallen world, there is “a deterioration of the morality of human beings,” Riley said. 

“Concurrent with that is a deterioration of the…relationship between human beings and the environment, which God placed us to live, and over which we are to steward.” 

According to Riley, we all still live in the fallen world.