Monday, April 17, 2006
Religious Right coming to its senses
"Christians Link Against Global Warming" says the Associated Press headline.
In February this year a group of 86 evangelical Christian leaders launched a campaign to pressure President Bush to change his stand against the Kyoto Protocol and realistic action against global warming.
"The leaders, who face opposition from some conservative evangelicals, want the U.S. government to pass legislation requiring the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels," reports journalist Foster Klug.
Evangelicals are an important part of the Republican Party, and the Religious Right has combined with the enegry industry to capture American greenhouse policy.
The group's call for political action will be backed by advertisements in The New York Times and other publications, and by television and radio commercials.
The Rev. Leith Anderson, a former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said the group's effort marked an important change in the evangelical community, where many are realizing that some issues, such as global warming, AIDS and other humanitarian crises, need strong government involvement. That notion runs counter to the views of certain conservatives.
The group's efforts have sparked criticism by other evangelicals, some of whom question the scientific evidence on global warming.
The vast majority of Christian fundamentalists in the US believe we are in the 'end times' as predicted in the Bible and that to resist global warming is to defy God's will. These people influence government policy more powerfully than scientific opinion.
In February this year a group of 86 evangelical Christian leaders launched a campaign to pressure President Bush to change his stand against the Kyoto Protocol and realistic action against global warming.
"The leaders, who face opposition from some conservative evangelicals, want the U.S. government to pass legislation requiring the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels," reports journalist Foster Klug.
Evangelicals are an important part of the Republican Party, and the Religious Right has combined with the enegry industry to capture American greenhouse policy.
The group's call for political action will be backed by advertisements in The New York Times and other publications, and by television and radio commercials.
The Rev. Leith Anderson, a former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said the group's effort marked an important change in the evangelical community, where many are realizing that some issues, such as global warming, AIDS and other humanitarian crises, need strong government involvement. That notion runs counter to the views of certain conservatives.
The group's efforts have sparked criticism by other evangelicals, some of whom question the scientific evidence on global warming.
The vast majority of Christian fundamentalists in the US believe we are in the 'end times' as predicted in the Bible and that to resist global warming is to defy God's will. These people influence government policy more powerfully than scientific opinion.
