Hopeful Signs: Evangelical Leaders Embrace Environmentalism

"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."

So says Rich Cizik, vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals, in a recent article in The New York Times. Cizik and a core of other evangelical leaders -- including editors of Christianity Today, the leading evangelical magazine -- have publicly supported increased environmental regulation.

Their reasons for doing so are theologically solid: As stewards of God's creation,we have a duty not to trash it. Secondly, climate change is likely to inflict the greatest damage on impoverished areas of the world. Christians truly concerned with the "least of these," evangelical leaders suggest, should therefore care about global warming.

Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say the mass of American evangelicals have become environmentalists. Thursday and Friday this week, the Times reports, a conference of evangelical leaders is meeting in the D.C. suburbs to seek consensus on an environmental statement. The power of evangelical opinion on the topic is such that both Sen. Joseph Lieberman and representatives of the Bush administration addressed the conference. The outcome is still uncertain.

Additionally, recent support for environmentalism comes from politically moderate evangelical groups -- the NAE and Christianity today count here. I have heard no signs that conservative evangelicals -- Jerry Fallwell, James Dobson, and Christian Coalition-types -- intend to jump on the environmentalist bandwagon.

Still, it can only be a sign of hope that some evangelicals' convictions are not held captive by the Republican party. Agreement on topics like abortion does not imply agreement on environmental issues. When political stakes are high, however, the temptation exists to support your party on all topics, even those where faith might suggest a different outlook. Both sides err here.

By embracing environmentalism on Christian principles, however, some evangelicals have shown that their faith comes before Republican ideology. And that is a sign of faith, as well as a sign of hope.