Dori Borrelli

October 27, 2006

Around the country, many religious groups, and most significantly Evangelical Christians, are standing up for the environment. The result, observers say, is that the Bush Administration could lose critical support from its conservative religious constituency if it does not change its approach to environmental issues. Surprisingly enough, these conservative groups are hammering on one of the most controversial and debated environmental issues today—global warming. To provide an idea of the potential impact of this ideology switch, consider that Evangelicals constitute about fifty percent of the Republican base. If they are insisting on further environmental controls, it would seem impossible for the government to ignore them.

In particular, the Christian Coalition and the National Association of Evangelicals are pushing for better climate change controls. Reverend Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, has been urging politicians to state publicly their positions on global warming. Additionally, beginning on October 19, a broad coalition of evangelical leaders began airing ads on Christian radio stations calling for actions to address global warming. Evangelicals have even begun promoting sermons on "creation care"—the idea that the Bible calls on people to care for God's earth. Believe it or not, evangelical leaders are also urging their congregations to see The Great Warming, a new documentary film about global warming. In fact, Reverend Joel C. Hunter, the new president of the Christian Coalition, has said he plans to "rebuild and rebrand" the conservative lobbying group. Such initiatives, however, are not settling well with all religious conservatives. For instance, despite Reverend Hunter's enthusiasm towards addressing global warming, the board of directors of the Christian Coalition has yet to take an official position on the issue.

For more information, please see the following sources:

Bush Greenwatch, Evangelicals Embrace of Environmental Stewardship Creates Problem for Bush, available at http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000321.php.

Alan Cooperman, Evangelicals Broaden Their Moral Agenda, Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2006, at A19, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/18/AR2006101801681.html.