EarthBeat Weekly: Can employees claim a religious right to a fossil fuel-free retirement plan?

Can employees claim a religious right to a fossil fuel-free retirement plan?   EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change August 7, 2026   Demonstrators march across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City Sept. 20, 2024, to call for an end to the era of fossil fuels. (OSV News/Reuters/Shannon Stapleton) How to save for retirement is a quandary that poses a multitude of pathways.  For many Americans, it starts with an employer-provided 401(k) plan. [As a nonprofit news publication, here at National Catholic Reporter it's a 4013(b).] Which funds and which strategies to utilize are all relevant questions, ones that faith communities for decades have sought to infuse with moral and ethical considerations. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for instance, has long eschewed investments in companies tied to weapons, pornography, abortion and cloning. The Vatican has offered its own investment guidelines, too. Specific funds have been developed to reflect these priorities, for both institutions and individuals. Meanwhile, coalitions of faith-based investors have sought to engage companies directly, seeking through dialogue changes in business practices in line with their values around human rights, the common good and the health of ecosystems. That includes on climate change, where these coalitions have conversed with fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil while in some cases elected to withdraw, or divest, their financial holdings from the coal, oil and gas sector altogether.  This week, I reported at EarthBeat on a new lawsuit, relying on the grounds of religious liberty, that aims to move the push for fossil fuel divestment to a new front: the individual employers' retirement plan options. The suit, filed Tuesday, alleges that the life sciences company Thermo Fisher Scientific violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion, when it denied an employee's request to provide a retirement plan option that omits investments in fossil fuels in line with his Christian beliefs.  The plaintiff, Andrew Hartley, is a statistical science director at Thermo Fisher Scientific and a member of the United Methodist Church. His complaint cites Christian teachings to steward and care for the earth — obligations, Hartley said, that extend to refraining from investing in or profiting from fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change. "Dr. Hartley believes that investing his retirement money in ecologically and socially destructive fossil fuel companies violates his religious beliefs, including his belief that it is deeply immoral to personally profit from and hold an ownership stake in the fossil fuel companies that are contributing to the climate crisis," the lawsuit states. The case presents a test of a new standard for religious accommodations set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023, when it unanimously sided with an evangelical Christian mail carrier who opposed delivery shifts on Sundays.  If Hartley's case is successful, his attorneys say it could create a pathway for millions of Americans to access employer retirement options in alignment with their religious or moral beliefs, including on climate change.  "We're hoping to make it so that that becomes a thing that more people see, and then they have an option to make a choice that is better aligned with their values," said Ben Segal, an attorney with ClientEarth, a California-based environmental legal organization representing Hartley in the lawsuit. Read more: Catholic groups urge EPA to halt actions that devalue human life, God's creation What else is new on EarthBeat:   Spokane bishop calls for prayers, outreach as wildfires ravage area by Gina Christian, OSV News A Washington state bishop is calling for prayer as wildfires have torched entire neighborhoods, leading to thousands of evacuations and hundreds of destroyed buildings. Read more here »   Catholics sees outpouring of grace after EF-3 tornado; Wisconsin storm miraculously took no lives by Patricia Kasten, OSV News The tornado, with winds of 146 mph, traveled on the ground for 20 minutes, cutting a swath of 12.5 miles, over three cities and one village. Menasha, population 18,000, was hardest hit. Read more here »   In Kenya, nuns lead in providing water, sanitation and hygiene for vulnerable children by Lourine Oluoch The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood work with children from around Nairobi, rescuing them from the streets, rehabilitating them, and reintegrating them back to school and into the community.  Read more here »   Pope Leo XIV's visit to South America in November to include cities in Peru by Courtney Mares, OSV News Chiclayo is expected to be one of the most closely watched stops since Leo served as bishop of the diocese from 2015 to 2023. Read more here »   Is Pope Leo a Democratic Socialist? by Thomas Reese, Religion News Service Modern popes tend to stay out of partisan politics, but when Leo speaks, he certainly sounds like a Democratic Socialist. Read more here » What's happening in other climate news: Puerto Rican cities hit with water rationing measures as record dry conditions persist —Dánica Coto for the Associated Press Wildfire smoke is now a bigger prenatal threat than human sources of air pollution —Liza Gross for Inside Climate News Data center foes win big in Tuesday’s primaries —Timothy Cama, Liz Crampton for E&E News Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate funds —Michael Phillis for the Associated Press Crews building Trump border wall in drought-hit New Mexico ordered to stop drilling wells —Coral Murphy Marcos for the Guardian Five Amazon countries arrest hundreds in major crackdown on environmental crime —Steven Grattan for the Associated Press Is the recycling symbol free speech? A judge just ruled it could be. —Joseph Winters for Grist How rescued orangutans are rebuilding a new wild population in Sumatra —Nanang Sujana and Sandy Watt for Mongabay Final Beat: Every day at NCR we are on the search for what's pulsating in the world of Catholic news.  We talk with sources, review press releases and follow other media coverage. But we know we can't find each and every potential story.  That's where you come in.  Have an idea for a faith-and-environment story you think warrants coverage? For instance, is there a Catholic parish or group in your community involved in debates around a proposed data center? Drop me a line at broewe@ncronline.org with your news tips and story ideas.  Who knows, you may just read about it in a future EarthBeat Weekly newsletter. As always, thanks for reading EarthBeat.   Brian Roewe Environment Correspondent National Catholic Reporter broewe@ncronline.org     Featured Advertisers   Looking to Hire? Offering Retreats? Selling Books? 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