Climate Change: A Symptom of a Distorted, Imperialist Worldview
Social scientists have long warned that climate change is not merely an environmental issue it is the direct consequence of a distorted and imperialist worldview. This worldview, rooted in the false belief that humanity exists separate from nature and possesses dominion over it, has justified centuries of exploitation and destruction of the Earth. Sadly, this way of thinking has been championed both by powerful religious institutions and by the captains of industry, who together have promoted a global culture of greed and domination. This dangerous mindset has brought humanity to the brink of ecological collapse.
Environmentalists have pointed out that the biblical interpretation to “dominate the Earth” has been gravely misunderstood. Instead of serving as a call to stewardship and care, it has been twisted into a moral justification for exploitation and profit-seeking. A tragic example is the sale of Xavier University’s 20-hectare campus to Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), where 14 hectares of mini-forest home to more than 40 species of birds will be destroyed to make way for malls and condominiums. For five billion pesos, a priceless sanctuary of life will be lost, silencing the songs of the birds and erasing a natural heritage that once shielded the city from floods. This act stands in direct contradiction to the appeal of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’, to listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. In this case, both nature and morality have been sacrificed at the altar of profit.
The Oxfam Study affirms that this obsession with profit has captured not only governments and corporations but even academic and religious institutions. The world now pursues a “growth-at-all-cost” strategy, driven by the desire to maximize profit and consumer goods instead of nurturing moral and ecological values. This distorted worldview betrays the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Jesuit pioneers of Xavier University, whose mission was to form “men and women for others.” These educators taught generations to serve the least of their brethren and to value human dignity over material wealth. As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “Fame, wealth, and power are meaningless, utterly meaningless.” And as Christ asked, “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul?”
The desecration of the burial grounds of these Jesuit pioneers and the destruction of the mini-forest that protected the city symbolize a tragic moral decay. It is not only an ecological disaster but also a spiritual one an abandonment of values in exchange for vanity and greed. The doctrine of domination the idea that the fittest must prevail has long guided empires and corporations alike. This philosophy, resembling a jungle law where the strong devour the weak, has fueled religious wars and colonial conquests throughout history. Imperial powers have used religion to justify subjugation, claiming divine authority to conquer others “for their own good.”
In 1898, U.S. President William McKinley claimed that God had commanded him in a dream to “liberate” the Philippines. Under this supposed divine mission, more than 600,000 Filipinos were killed in a war of conquest. Such atrocities were justified under the illusion of saving souls. This same imperial arrogance continues today not through armies, but through corporate globalization. Modern conquerors come as multinational corporations and their local partners, oligarchs and elites who exploit land, labor, and natural resources under the banner of “development.” The Philippines, rich in ecological treasures yet trapped in poverty, has become both a market and a target of imperial control.
As a market, it is plundered for cheap raw materials and flooded with imported goods; as a target, it serves as a strategic frontier where foreign powers install military bases and nuclear weapons. This explains the paradox of a nation abundant in natural wealth yet home to millions who are poor, landless, and hungry. The question remains who controls, who decides, and who profits? Certainly not the people, but a handful of oligarchs and their imperial patrons.
In this moral and spiritual collapse, Mother Earth, Gaia is dying. The Dalai Lama reminds us, “Saving the climate is our common duty.” Rising sea levels are swallowing Pacific islands, species are disappearing at alarming rates, and water shortages are worsening worldwide. Scientists warn that if the Greenland ice sheet completely melts, sea levels could rise by as much as 70 meters leaving only a fraction of the Philippines’ 7,100 islands above water. Yet despite these warnings, many Filipinos remain apathetic, numbed by poverty and misinformation.
Fisherfolk from coastal communities testify that the sea has already risen, washing away their homes and livelihoods. Mangroves and coral reefs once teeming with life are gone. The poorest of the poor now live in despair, their children hungry, their future uncertain. This crisis extends beyond the environment. It includes the violent displacement of Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestral domains are stolen through corporate greed and military collusion. In Mindanao alone, over a hundred Indigenous leaders have been killed in recent years defending their land. Their blood cries out for justice.
Here, the Philippines urgently needs moral exemplars like Saint Oscar Romero of El Salvador, canonized by Pope Francis in 2018. Archbishop Romero was martyred while celebrating Mass, moments after delivering a homily that challenged soldiers to obey God’s law over unjust orders:
“I implore you I beg you I order you, in the name of God: stop the repression!”
Romero embodied the prophetic mission of Christianity to defend the poor, to resist oppression, and to speak truth to power. His life reminds us that faith without justice is hypocrisy, and prayer without ethical action is empty. The true essence of Christianity is not domination, but liberation; not the pursuit of wealth, but the pursuit of love and justice. Today, as we witness the massive land-grabbing of ancestral lands in Quezon, Bukidnon, and Lanao del Sur, the suffering of displaced Indigenous peoples and farmers mirrors the same imperial exploitation of the past.
The Manobo-Pulingiyon Tribe in Quezon, Bukidnon, has lived under makeshift tents for seven years after their ancestral lands were seized by a powerful corporation. Their children are malnourished and cannot go to school. In Amai Manabilang, Lanao del Sur, Ilocano settler farmers who have cultivated their lands for decades are being forcibly evicted by the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA) to make way for foreign investors. Their farms have been destroyed, their water supply tampered with, and their rights trampled upon.
These are not isolated incidents they are the living consequences of a worldview that values profit over people, domination over compassion, and greed over God. This is the same worldview that causes climate change, war, and social decay. The Dalai Lama reminds us, “Religion should not be limited to prayer ethical action is more important than prayers.” Saint Oscar Romero lived this truth and paid the price with his life. His courage should awaken us all. Indeed, fear of death keeps many silent, but love of truth should give us courage to act. Even Christ was crucified to redeem humanity. To be Christian, therefore, is to be Christ-like to love without fear, to defend the poor and the Earth, and to live for the glory of God through service to creation.
Only through spiritual awakening, ethical action, and prophetic courage can humanity heal both the planet and its own soul. For in saving Mother Earth, we also save ourselves.
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