ESCHATOLOGICAL FATALISM AND CLIMATE INACTION: A PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION ANALYSIS OF DOMINANT END-TIME BELIEFS IN NIGERIAN CHRISTIANITY

Abstract

This paper interrogates the relationship between eschatological fatalism and climate inaction within the context of Nigerian Christianity using the lens of philosophy of religion. It observes that certain dominant end-time beliefs such as: the earth is transient, heaven is humans’ permanent dwelling place, and the cosmos is divinely ordained for destruction, can foster a form of ethical disengagement from ecological responsibility. Drawing on conceptual analysis and critical hermeneutics, the study examines how these beliefs shape moral attitudes towards responsible environmental stewardship in the face of the global ecological crisis. The paper further engages African philosophical perspectives, especially communitarian and relational ontologies, to challenge the individualistic and otherworldly orientation of such eschatological frameworks. The study emphasizes that eschatological beliefs need not undermine ecological commitment. Ultimately, it contends that a critical re-evaluation of dominant end-time beliefs is necessary to realign Nigerian Christian thought with ethical imperatives for environmental sustainability. It concludes that reconstructing eschatological consciousness along the lines of this-worldly and responsibility-centered stewardship is crucial for mobilizing faith-based responses to the climate crisis in the twenty-first century.