Renowned Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe, PhD Addresses Christianity, Climate, and Culture as Keynote Lecturer of Villanova’s Earth Day Celebration

Credit: AshleyRodgers; TexasTechUniversity

Villanova, Pa. – Over the last 50 years, the average global temperature has risen at the fastest rate in recorded history, posing profound challenges for our future. Climate change has triggered intense engagement and reactions from politicians, scholars, organizations and even churches—leading to a misconception that Christianity and science cannot co-exist. On Thursday, April 22 at 5:30 p.m. renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, PhD, an endowed professor in Public Policy and Public Law and co-director of the Climate Center at Texas Tech University, presents “Christians, Climate, and our Culture in the US” as a part of Villanova University’s annual Earth Day celebration.

An evangelical Christian, Dr. Hayhoe openly discusses how her faith informs her work and actively engages the very people who most doubt her research. Authoring more than 125 peer-reviewed papers, including key reports such as US Global Change Research Program’s Second National Climate Assessment and other publications, Dr. Hayhoe is a master of communicating the science and impacts of climate change. Her research findings have been presented before Congress, highlighted in briefings to state and federal agencies, and used by communities, states, and regions across the country for planning purposes. Her current research focuses on establishing a scientific basis for assessing the regional to local-scale impacts of climate change on human systems and the natural environment. She wants to translate climate projections into information relevant to agriculture, ecosystems, energy, infrastructure, public health and water resources.

In addition to her published research, Dr. Hayhoe has given many public talks on climate science, impacts, communication and faith. Her 2018 TED Talk about de-stigmatizing climate change has almost four million views. Part of her mission is to advocate for climate change awareness and start important conversations at the intersection of belief and science. She authored her first book with her husband, a pastor, A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions, to untangle the complex science and tackle many long-held conceptions about global warming.

The talk is free and open to the public via Zoom. It is part of a week-long Earth Day celebration organized by Villanova’s Sustainability Committee.

About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.