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The Vatican has never been on the cutting edge. While the outside world has forged ahead with birth control and stem-cell research, the headquarters of Roman Catholicism has remained steadfast in its opposition to such modern sins.

But Pope Benedict XVI may be a pope with 21st-century sensibility. The Vatican recently released a list of "new sins" that modern Catholics should avoid, which included "destroying the environment."

The pope has been very vocal in his opposition to global warming, and last year said, "Before it’s too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth."

The Vatican has since begun its green crusade by installing photovoltaic cells on the rooftop of one of the main auditoriums in Vatican City, forming an alliance with a Hungarian carbon-offset company and sponsoring a conference on climate change.

But the pope isn’t the only religious official to jump on the green bandwagon.

The Church of England launched a "carbon fast" at the beginning of Lent this year, in conjunction with the faith-based nonprofit Tearfund. The bishops of London and Liverpool led the effort by encouraging parishioners not to make traditional Lent sacrifices like giving up chocolate, but to reduce their carbon outputs by avoiding plastic bags, replacing a light bulb with an energy-saving bulb and taking a day off from using the dishwasher.

So is being green the new religion? The next time you feel guilty about your carbon footprint, don’t discount the people who know guilt the best. According to them, God is watching