Christian groups are becoming more vocal in their support for the environment. A coalition of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church had representatives at the climate conference in Bali. In a joint response, they cautiously welcomed the consensus reached there.
The group is also asking parishioners to directly engage their political representatives in the British Parliament to enact tougher emissions reductions targets of 80%.
Convener of the Church and Society Committee at the United Reformed Church, Simon Loveitt, said: “As Christians, the care of God’s creation has been for too long a side issue, and this cannot continue.”
Last May in America, an interfaith body of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders was established to combat climate change.
The conventional wisdom suggests that evangelicals in America, a large and motivated voting block, are still skeptical of environmental issues. Check out a PBS documentary on this subject in our “Green Video.”
Interestingly, a recent opinion poll of evangelicals found these surprising results.
- *70% believe global warming will pose a serious threat to future generations. Even 56% of conservatives believe this.
- *63% believed that although global warming may be a long-term problem, the problem is being caused today; therefore we must start addressing it immediately.
- *51% said steps should be taken to reduce global warming, even if there is a high economic cost to the U.S.
- *66% favored a bill that would cost $15 a month.
- *Among those who were completely convinced global warming is taking place, 71% also thought it will impact them during their lifetime.
- *76% of moderate evangelicals were completely (24%) or mostly (52%) convinced global warming is happening. 48% of conservatives were completely (11%) or mostly (37%) convinced.
Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NEA) has become a climate crusader, traveling throughout the nation urging member churches to recognize the moral aspect of the issue. “If you are for the sanctity of life and ignore the health impact of the environment on the unborn, I think that is a limited understanding of how everything is connected in life,” Cizik said.
Of course, not every evangelical is on board yet. Notorious leaders such as Dr. James C. Dobson and Gary L. Bauer have even attempted to boot Rev. Cizik from the NEA.
Nevertheless, it seems Green evangelicals are becoming increasingly politically engaged. Rev. Jim Ball, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network teamed up with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Union for Reform Judaism to fully support the recent Lieberman-Warner Climate federal cap and trade bill. And there is even a new Green evangelical magazine called “Creation Care.”
In 2006, leaders from the National Association of Evangelicals created the Evangelical Climate Initiative’s “Call to Action,” a landmark statement which declares global warming is real and mainly caused by humans.
Now we also have a nascent green churches movement in America. Last November, the National Association of Evangelicals and a U.S. government energy program created the first religious-government partnership to tackle energy consumption in religious facilities.
By Stefan Deeran at The Element Agency in New York.