Kristi Del Vecchio is a PhD Candidate focusing on Religious and Environmental Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School. The Divinity School conducted an interview with her to honor Earth Month.

What does your work focus on? 

My work focuses on the intersection of climate change and reproductive ethics, or what some have called "eco-reproductive" ethics. Various studies now suggest that anywhere between 25-35% of adults in the United States are having fewer or no biological children in part due to concerns about climate change and population growth. My research seeks to understand some of the ethical dimensions of these concerns. For example, who or what are people "worried" about when they say they are having fewer or no children because of environmental threats like climate change? Moreover, if adults are deciding to have fewer or no biological children partly due to these issues, how might they nonetheless sustain bonds of kinship, care, and responsibility with young people? My research explores these questions with particular reference to Christian communities in the United States. For my dissertation, I have conducted dozens of long-form interviews with Christian adults across the U.S. who are grappling with these kinds of eco-reproductive concerns. 

How does the study of religion intersect or inform the study of environmental issues – or vice versa (how does thinking about the environment intersect or inform your study of religion?

Climate change can disrupt what it means to live “a good life," especially within the context of the family, because some Christians consider having biological children to be a moral good (i.e., “be fruitful and multiply”). For these reasons, many of my informants feel an acute sense of loss at the possibility that they may not become parents to biological children. Yet what also emerged throughout my interviews is something beyond this sense of loss. In creative and constructive ways, many of my informants are also engaging with their Christian inheritances to develop meaningful relationships with young people who are not necessarily related to them. For example, they choose to nurture “chosen family” in church contexts, mentor children and teens in youth ministries, create kin through communal or cooperative homes, and adopt or foster children. Put another way, I am seeing Christian adults find innovative ways to sustain “family ties" even if they decide to have fewer or no biological children of their own. To me, it is compelling that existing Christian practices can provide a framework for these kinds of kinship alternatives. This speaks to the ways in which Christian traditions, or religious traditions more broadly, can be sites of moral creativity in the face of new or difficult moral problems (including climate change). 

What inspired your interest in the work you're currently pursuing, and what is next for you?

I became interested in these topics in part because they came up frequently in personal conversations and in the news. While I continue to encounter a lot of discussion about eco-reproductive concerns -- in addition to an increasing amount of academic literature -- it is not always clear how these issues intersect with religious ways of life. This is the contribution that I hope to make in my dissertation. Next year, as I work on completing the dissertation, I will be applying to academic jobs.