ENVIRONMENT

Environmentalists Seek to Garner Christian Vote

By David Brody
Washington Correspondent

CBN.com – (CBN News) - WASHINGTON - When Christians think of "values" issues, they typically think of topics like abortion and marriage. But maybe the environment is starting to creep in as well.

The National Association of Evangelicals has come out with its "Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility," and it emphasizes how it is every Christian's duty to care for the planet and safeguard the environment.

Bill Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society, said, "My sense is that the church now, many in the church, at least, are understanding that we have a responsibility for a larger community."

And so, both evangelicals and environmentalists acknowledge a changing political landscape. For example, the issues of global warming, clean air, and stricter environmental regulations -- all issues that have been championed by the "radical left" and more mainstream environmentalists in the past -- are now being embraced, to a certain extent, by some in the Christian community.

That is because environmentalists have been actively working to find common causes with evangelicals on issues like mercury pollution -- issues that relate to family health and the health of unborn children.

Part of the equation here, to bring more evangelicals into the fold, is to change the vocabulary. So now, environmental groups will not use the word "environmentalism" to evangelicals. Instead, it is starting to be called "creation care."

So issues like protecting the wildlife in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge are not necessarily defined as being a conservative or liberal issue.

Meadows said, "I think the evangelical community has realized that their responsibility to their God's charge for good stewardship requires them to make choices like protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to protect endangered species, to be more engaged in this larger community of life."

It is a movement that has taken hold slowly, because not everyone in the evangelical community is ready to go along with the environmentalist agenda. Evangelicals do not seem ready to vote based on environmental concerns. So questions remain as to whether the liberal environmentalists can recruit enough evangelicals, a key voting block, to further their message.

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