Rainbows of Comfort in Rising Seas: How Literalist Bible Interpretations Impact Climate Change Communication in the Marshall Islands

Abstract

Abstract The Republic of the Marshall Islands is beginning to feel the impacts of climate change. Its geography and low-lying landscape have put it at a disadvantage to fight the coming seas. National leadership and environmental groups continue to provide locals with communications about the challenges to come. While climate change is a concept of science, there may be local barriers to its public internalization. This study seeks to determine if there is a relationship between fundamentalist Christian views, climate change communication, and Marshallese perceptions of global environmental change. The Marshall Islands has a deeply religious population, the majority of whom are fundamentalist Christians. A mixed-methods survey is employed to assess the impact that the belief in biblical literalism, the Noahic Covenant, and apocalyptic narratives exert over Marshallese views of environmental change. Results demonstrate that nonelite Marshallese inhabitants do not see climate change as an existential threat but rather as a sign of the end times and the Second Coming of Christ. This has significant implications for human security and migration outcomes if current climate communication methods are ineffective with respect to urgency. If locals see climate impacts through a religious lens, climate change communication must incorporate biblical concepts and address contextual understandings. Significance Statement The purpose of this study is to investigate how biblical literalism impacts the way in which Marshall Islanders interpret information on climate change and its impacts. Religion is a strong factor in the development of cosmology and/or worldview of all peoples; it provides a lens through which people understand the events of their existence. Our results show that climate impacts are interpreted by the followers of some literalist sects to be signs of biblical apocalypse. Viewing climate impacts as divine will pose a challenge to the need for relocation planning, adaptation, and personal safety.