Global warming
is moving from a scientific issue to a religious and political debate with the
power to influence votes and public policy.
What's new:
• On May 15, 2008, evangelical pastors, scientists and policymakers launched the “We Get It” campaign, which calls for Christians to be good stewards of creation but rejects government policies on global warming that are based on “faulty science.” Its supporters include the Ethics and Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Family Research Council, the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, and the Institute on Religion & Democracy. Read a May 16, 2008, Baptist Press article.
• On March 10, 2008, 46 leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention — including its president and other prominent leaders — released a statement saying Baptists have a moral responsibility to combat climate change.
• On Jan. 17, 2007, leading scientists and evangelical leaders plan to
announce that they will work together to combat global warming, despite their
differences. See a Jan.
15, 2007, CNN story.
• Evangelical Christians - who wield power through their increasing numbers
and political influence - made headlines by joining the many faith groups expressing
concern about climate change. The Evangelical
Climate Initiative - including megachurch pastors, presidents of Christian
colleges, and other leaders - issued a manifesto called "Climate
Change: An Evangelical Call to Action." While liberal and moderate faith
groups have long embraced environmental concerns, many conservative Christians
have considered the scientific evidence inconclusive and called steps to reduce
greenhouse gases unwarranted, detrimental and, in some cases, unrelated to religious
obligation. Evangelical leaders' high-profile campaign against global warming,
however, revealed that sharp disagreement still exists among some in this group.
Experts say the divided opinions among evangelicals may be key to political
action on global warming.
• Two high-profile films and a television special have explored global
warming.
•
Al Gore's documentary An
Inconvenient Truth brought the message of climate change to commercial
theaters over the summer. During the first week of October, thousands of
congregations across the country sponsored showings of the film as part
of "Spotlight on Global Warming," a campaign of the Regeneration
Project.
• On Nov. 3 a second documentary, The
Great Warming, will open in theaters. It's endorsed by religious
groups including the Evangelical Environmental Network. Narrated by stars
Keanu Reeves and Alanis Morissette, it includes an interview with Richard
Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association
of Evangelicals and a major voice supporting "creation care,"
a favored Christian term for environmental awareness and action. Cizik has
written a letter on NAE letterhead that appears on the film's
Web site urging churches to screen the film and join the campaign to
reduce global warming. The producers are encouraging congregations of all
persuasions to screen the film for their members.
• The Public Broadcasting Service aired Bill Moyers' report called
"Is
God Green?," showcasing environmentally aware evangelicals.
• The issue of
global warming has become more prominent as heat waves, cataclysmic storms and
melting of polar ice convinced former skeptics of the reality of climate change.
• The
religious and political debate may now hold the power to motivate action on a
scientific issue that has long been considered settled. The vast majority of mainstream
scientists and science organizations have accepted the consensus finding that
human activity is causing the earth to grow warmer, and that the results will
be harmful - even calamitous - in areas affected by rising temperatures and sea
levels, the loss of many species' habitats, changes in disease epidemiology, and
many other aspects of life. Despite criticism from a small minority of scientists,
the consensus suggests that the evidence warrants steps to slow the warming trend
by reducing greenhouse gas emission earth.
The evangelical
divide
Experts say that
religion's influence may now the leading edge of the global warming debate.
Evangelicals are key because they are the most reliable bloc of support for
the Bush administration, dependably voting Republican based on an array of social
issues. Until recently, the environment did not figure among the policy priorities
that concerned these voters. With the Evangelical Climate Initiative, however,
climate change became the first social issue to split the solid conservative
consensus in support of Bush administration policies and, in some cases, even
to bring conservative evangelicals into coalition with liberals.
The extent and
effects of this shift are as yet unclear, but some observers suggest they could
be potentially significant. If any substantial number of evangelical voters
begins to cast ballots on the basis of environmentalism, they could erode the
most solid section of the Republicans' electoral base. But even if their voting
habits do not change, their concern for global warming could push the Bush administration
to alter its policy. Some rumors have suggested that President Bush will make
a dramatic "Nixon-goes-to-China" style about-face on climate policy,
though many observers believe that unlikely.
The evolution of
evangelicals' stands on the environment:
• During the 1990s a pair of competing statements on Christians' relationship
with the environment focused attention on the issue. In 1994 "An
Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation" asserted a Christian
responsibility for "creation care." In 1999 the Cornwall
Declaration answered with a defense of the concept of human dominion over
the earth and the importance private property rights trumping government regulations.
• As
evidence of global warming mounted and many former skeptics - including religious
broadcaster Pat Robertson - became convinced of the reality of climate change,
discussion focused more sharply on what people are doing to the climate and
what, if anything, Christians ought to do about it.
• On Feb. 8, 2006, the Evangelical
Climate Initiative issued "Climate
Change: An Evangelical Call to Action," signed by many prominent evangelicals.
The signers did not include National Association of Evangelicals president Ted
Haggard and Richard Cizik, both of whom have expressed support for environmental
action, however, because they said the NEA was split on the issue. The statement
argues that:
•
Human-caused global warming is taking place.
• It will have significant adverse effects and will do the most serious
damage to the poor.
• Christian morality and Biblical teachings require a response to the
problem.
• The response must begin immediately and must involve government,
business and industry, religious organizations and individual citizens.
•
The effects of climate change are unlikely to be catastrophic and some may
even be beneficial.
• Natural phenomena have probably caused a substantial portion of the
rise in temperature and the contribution of human activity is small.
• Reducing carbon monoxide emissions would have little effect on the
length, duration or harmful effects of any global warming that occurs.
• Government mandates to reduce emissions would harm the poor while
producing insignificant benefits for either humans or other species.
• Rather than trying to slow or prevent the minor warming that may
happen, policies should protect people, and especially poor people, from
any harmful effects of global warming and other disasters.
• Two areas of
debate have emerged.
•
Both camps cite Scripture. Those who support taking action on climate change
generally cite God's intention that humans should "till and keep"
the Earth (Genesis 2:15). Some see saving the earth as a pro-life issue
because it affects the well-being and, potentially, the survival of members
of future generations. Those in opposition refer to God's instruction that
humans should multiply and exercise dominion over all living things on Earth
(Genesis 1:28). Some also believe that humanity has entered or is close
to entering what they believe is the prophesied End Times, and that the
effects of global warming are part of that.
• Funding that supports the various evangelical groups taking positions
on the climate issue. Critics of the Evangelical Climate Initiative point
to support by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which also underwrites
family planning initiatives. According to these critics, this indicates
a larger goal of linking the environmentalism to population control and,
ultimately, to abortion. Critics of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance
point to payments that a number of signers, supporters or their organizations
have received from the petroleum industry, including ExxonMobil, which has
supported efforts to question or discredit the science supporting the argument
that burning of fossil fuels is a major contributor to global warming.
Meanwhile, three-quarters
of evangelicals said they favor such actions as slowing climate change or preventing
development of wild areas, according to a survey
released in February 2006. A quarter are strong supporters of environmental
action and more than half found support for environmentalism in their Christian
beliefs. Though fewer than a fifth feel well versed in the science, two-thirds
believe that climate change is happening and 70 percent see it as a significant
danger over the long term. More than 60 percent support taking steps to stop
it, and half favor doing so even if the cost is high.
Click
the map for interview sources
in your state and region
Care for God's
Earth is a shared concern among major religious traditions. The environmental
movement, for years, has been drawing an increasing number of religious people
from a variety of faith traditions. That suggests that care of the Earth is
one issue that could unite people of faith across religious divides. However,
divided opinions among evangelicals and the debut of two documentary films which
likely appeal to different ends of the liberal-conservative religious spectrum
show that faith groups are far from unified on environmental concerns.
Questions
for reporters
• What are
the attitudes of evangelical Christians in your area regarding the issue of
climate change? Are churches taking action on the issue? How? Do churches
oppose action? If so, what form does their opposition take?
• Have
houses of worship screened The Great Warming and An Inconvenient Truth
in your area? What’s been the reaction?
• Have
congregations in your area become “green”? If so, what sort of policies, programs
or activities have they adopted?
National
sources
SCIENTIFIC •
Michael Oppenheimer is Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International
Affairs at Princeton University and a member of the Panel
on Climate Variability and Change of the National Research Council, a private
nonprofit that provides science advice under a congressional charter. Contact
609-258-2338, omichael@princeton.edu.
• Daniel
Schrag is a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University
and director of the Harvard
University Center for the Environment. Contact 617-495-7676, schrag@eps.harvard.edu.
• Dennis
L. Hartmann is a professor and chairman of atmospheric sciences at the University
of Washington, Seattle, and was chairman of the National Academies Panel on
Climate Change Feedbacks. Contact 206-543-7460, dennis@atmos.washington.edu.
• Lynne D.
Talley is a professor of physical oceanography at the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography of the University of California, San Diego. Contact 858-534-6610,
ltalley@ucsd.edu.
RELIGIOUS
SUPPORTERS OF
THE EVANGELICAL CLIMATE INITIATIVE STATEMENT
• The Rev. Rick Warren is senior pastor of Saddleback
Church in Lake Forest, Calif., author of national best seller The Purpose-Driven
Life (Zondervan, 2002) and a signer of the ECI statement. Contact 949-609-8000.
• The
Rev. Jim Wallis is founder and editor of Sojourners,
a progressive evangelical magazine in Washington, D.C., and a signer of the
ECI statement. Contact through Jack Pannell, 202-745-4614, media@sojo.net.
• The
Rev. Leith Anderson is a former president of the National
Association of Evangelicals, senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie,
Minn., and a signer of the ECI statement. Contact 952-944-6300.
• The
Rev. David S. Dockery is chairman of the board of the Council
for Christian Colleges and Universities and president of Union University
in Jackson, Tenn. He signed the ECI statement. Contact 731-668-1818.
• The
Rev. Jim Ball is executive director of the Evangelical
Environmental Network in Wynnewood, Pa. He signed the ECI statement. Contact
800-650-6600, een@creationcare.org.
• David
Neff is editor of Christianity Today in Carol Stream, Ill., and a signer
of the ECI statement. Contact through Michael Herman, 630-260-6200 ext. 4309
or 630-803-9432 (cell), mherman@christianitytoday.com.
• Bishop
James D. Leggett is general superintendent of International
Pentecostal Holiness Church and chairman of Pentecostal World Fellowship
in Bethany, Okla. He signed the ECI statement. Contact 405-787-7110 ext. 3302,
JLeggett@iphc.org.
• The
Rev. Richard Cizik is vice president for governmental affairs of the National
Association of Evangelicals in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-789-1011, govaffairs@nae.net.
• J.
Matthew Sleeth is a physician and author of Serve
God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action (Chelsea Green Publishers,
2006). Contact through Alice Blackmer, 703-443-9418, blackmer@chelseagreen.com.
NOT
SUPPORTIVE OF ECI STATEMENT
• E. Calvin Beisner is an associate professor of social ethics at Knox
Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He is author of Where Garden
Meets Wilderness: Evangelical Entry Into the Environmental Debate (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans/Acton Institute, 1997) and co-author of A Call to Truth,
Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming
(Interfaith Stewardship Alliance). He is a founder and national spokesman of
the Interfaith
Stewardship Alliance and a founder of the Interfaith Council on Environmental
Stewardship. He did not sign the ECI statement. Contact 954-771-0376, cbeisner@KnoxSeminary.edu.
• The Rev. Robert A. Sirico is president of the Acton
Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty and a signer of the Cornwall
Declaration, which calls concerns about manmade global warming “unfounded or
undue.” Contact 616-454-3080, rsirico@acton.org.
• The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon is chairman of the Traditional
Values Coalition, Washington, D.C. He signed a letter to National Evangelical
Association president Ted Haggard urging that NEA not take "any official
position on position" on global warming. Contact 202-547-8570.
• Robert Royal is president of the Faith
and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C., and a signer of the Cornwall Declaration.
Contact 202-289-8775, info@frinstitute.org.
• The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus is editor in chief of First Things,
president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life in New York, N.Y.,
and a signer of the Cornwall Declaration. Contact 212-627-1985.
• James Dobson is founder, former president and chairman of the board of
Focus on the Family. He signed the Cornwall Declaration. Contact Nima Reza,
719-548-4570.
• The Rev. D. James Kennedy heads Coral Ridge Ministries in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla. He signed the ISA “Open Letter.” Contact through John Aman, 954-334-5330.
• Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics
and Religious Liberty Commission, based in Nashville, Tenn. Contact through
Jill Martin 615-782-8417, jmartin@erlc.com.
• Richard Roberts is president of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla.
He signed a letter to National Evangelical Association president Ted Haggard
urging that NEA not take "any official position on position" on global
warming. Contact 918-495-6549.
• Donald E. Wildmon is chairman of the American Family Association in Tupelo,
Miss. He signed the Cornwall Declaration, which calls concerns about manmade
global warming “unfounded or undue.” Contact through Diane O’Neal, 662-680-3886.
OTHER CHRISTIAN •
The Rev. Sally Bingham, an Episcopal priest, leads the Regeneration
Project, which sponsored “Spotlight
on Global Warming,” a program that showed the film An Inconvenient
Truth in thousands of congregations of all faiths across the country during
the first week of October 2006. It also sponsors the Interfaith Power and Light
program, which fosters statewide coalitions of congregations of all faiths to
work on the issue of global
warming. The Regeneration Project is based in San Francisco. Contact 415-561-4891,
info@theregenerationproject.org.
• Cassandra
Carmichael is director of the National Council of Churches’ Eco-Justice
Working Group, whose Climate
and Energy Campaign includes coalitions
in 14 states. Contact 202-544-2350, info@nccecojustice.org.
INTERFAITH •
Paul Gorman is founder and executive director of the National
Religious Partnership for the Environment, based in Amherst, Mass. The partnership,
which claims to represent 100 million Americans, is an alliance of major faith
groups and denominations across the spectrum of Jewish and Christian communities
and organizations in the United States. It includes the U.S. Catholic bishops,
the Evangelical Environmental Network, the Coalition on the Environment and
Jewish Life and the National Council of Churches. Contact 413-253-1515, nrpe@nrpe.org.
• Laurel
Kearns leads the American Academy of Religion’s Religion
and Ecology Group. She is associate professor of religion and environmental
studies at Drew Theological School and Caspersen School of Graduate Studies
at Drew University in Madison, N.J. Contact 973-408-3009, lkearns@drew.edu.
• The
Forum on
Religion and Ecology wants to establish religion and ecology as an area
of study and research in universities, colleges, seminaries and other religiously
affiliated institutions. The forum arose out of a series of conferences on the
world’s religions and ecology that were hosted by the Harvard University Center
for the Study of World Religions; the site lists experts
on religion and ecology from different faiths and different disciplines,
with contact phone numbers. Contact the co-founders:
Mary Evelyn Tucker, a visiting professor at Yale University, at metucker@religionandecology.org,
and John Grim, also at Yale, grim@religionandecology.org.
• The
Interfaith Council
for Environmental Stewardship supports the 1999 Cornwall Declaration and
states that “our religious beliefs are being used to justify misguided environmental
policies that are often based on unsound science and faulty economic reasoning.”
Contact info@stewards.net.
JEWISH
• Barbara Lerman-Golomb is executive director of the Coalition
on the Environment and Jewish Life, based in New York. The coalition has
been concentrating on fuel economy and climate change, and also will be focusing
on power plants and on children’s environmental health. It has regional
chapters. Contact 212-532-7801.
MUSLIM •
Fazlun Khalid directs the Islamic
Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences in Birmingham, England.
He co-edited Islam and Ecology (Cassell Academic, 1992). Our Planet
posts an August
1996 article he wrote on the Islamic approach to environmental protection.
Contact ahlan@ifees.org.
• Seyyed
Hossein Nasr, a world-renowned scholar on Islam, teaches Islamic studies
at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His writings include Man
and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man (Kazi Publications, 1997).
Contact 202-994-5704, zsirat@gwu.edu.
BUDDHIST
• Stephanie Kaza is associate professor of environmental studies at the
University of Vermont in Burlington, where she teaches courses on religion and
ecology, including Buddhism and ecology, and on environmental philosophy. She
is a practicing Soto Zen Buddhist and co-edited Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist
Environmentalism (Shambhala, 2000). Contact 802-656-0172, skaza@zoo.uvm.edu.
• Kenneth
Kraft is professor of religious studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem,
Pa., where he teaches about Buddhism and ecology. His books include, as author,
The Wheel of Engaged Buddhism: A New Map of the Path (Weatherhill, 1999),
on spiritual responses to social and environmental issues; and, as co-editor,
Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism (Shambhala, 2000).
Contact 610-758-3370, klk2@lehigh.edu.
HINDU
• Vasudha
Narayanan is a professor of religion at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
She specializes in Hinduism and the environment. Contact 352-392-1625, vasu@ufl.edu.
Background
• Bill Moyers
posts a page
on his recent PBS broadcast, “Is God Green?” about disagreements among evangelicals
about environmental concerns. It includes to links to resources on religion
and the environment, including all
the major evangelical statements.
SCIENCE
PUBLICATIONS •
Read Understanding
and Responding to Climate Change, a March 2006 booklet by the National
Academies summarizing information from various National Research Council and
National Academies reports on the causes and effects of climate change and possible
remedies.
• Read
a December 2004 article, “The
Scientific Consensus on Climate Change,” in Science, the nation’s
leading scientific journal.
NEWS ARTICLES •
Read an Associated
Press story about evangelicals' new embrace of environmental issues, posted
Sept. 8, 2006, by WTopNews.com.
• Read
a July 10, 2006, article in The Oregonian, “Religion
and Global Warming,” about the increasing interest of young evangelicals
in climate issues.
• Read
a June 30, 2006, Religion News Service article, “Democrats,
Evangelicals Team Up on Global Warming,” about a potential new alliance
based on the climate change issue. The story is posted by the Pew Forum on Religion
and Public Life.
• Read
an April 12, 2006, Wall Street Journal article, “Climate
of Fear,” by Richard Lindzen, an MIT atmospheric science professor. Lindzen
is skeptical about the consensus on the effects of global warming, although
he accepts that human activity has contributed to the increase in carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere.
POLLS AND SURVEYS •
Read a survey
of evangelicals’ opinions on climate change and the environment. The study,
conducted in September 2005 and released in February 2006, was designed by Ellison
Research of Phoenix, Ariz., and funded by the Evangelical Environmental Network.
• PollingReport.com
posts public
opinion surveys about the government’s handling of environmental issues
and global warming.
• Read
“Religion and the Environment: Polls Show Strong Backing for Environmental Protection
Across Religious Groups,” a fact
sheet from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
