Evangelical Leaders Join Global Warming Battle, Cite Stewardship

by Laurie Goodstein
New York Times, March 16, 2005

A core group of influential evangelical leaders has put its considerable political power behind a cause that has barely registered on the evangelical agenda, fighting global warming.

These church leaders, scientists, writers and heads of international aid agencies argue that global warming is an urgent threat, a cause of poverty and a Christian issue because the Bible mandates stewardship of God’s creation.

The Rev. Rich Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, said, “I don’t think God is going to ask us how He created the Earth, but He will ask us what we did with what he created.”

…People on all sides of the debate say that if evangelical leaders take a stand, they could change the political dynamics on global warming.

The (Bush) administration has refused to join the international Kyoto Treaty and opposes mandatory emission controls. The issue has failed to gain much traction in the Republican-controlled Congress. An overwhelming majority of evangelicals are Republicans, and about four out of five evangelicals voted for Bush last year ...

… In October, the association paved the way for broad-based advocacy on the environment when it adopted “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility,” a platform that included a plank on “creation care” that many evangelical leaders say was unprecedented.