“Evangelicals… comprise between 40 to 50 percent of… the Republican base, and so if the largest single population group in the Republican coalition were to say, ‘this is important. We want you to take, as leaders in the Republican party, leadership on climate change, on clean air, on pure water, on the stewardship of our natural resources.’ If evangelical Christians were to say that, I daresay Republicans will listen. This president, George Bush, will have to listen, the Republicans running for the White House in 2008 will have to listen…”
- Reverend Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, from the film The Great Warming
Around the country, many religious groups, and most notably evangelical Christians, are taking a stand on the environment. Observers say the Bush administration could lose significant support from its conservative religious base if it doesn’t change its stance on issues like global warming.
In addition to promoting sermons on “creation care” – the idea that the Bible calls on people to care for God's earth – evangelical leaders are urging their congregations to see The Great Warming, a documentary film that has been highlighted this week in the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.
Narrated by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, The Great Warming depicts the threat global warming poses to millions of people, particularly the world's children, the poorest and the most vulnerable. The film also showcases the recent engagement of religious groups in confronting the enormous challenge of global warming.
Groups like the Christian Coalition and the National Association of Evangelicals are also making global warming an issue. Reverend Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, has been pressing politicians to publicly state their positions on global warming.
Last summer Cizik invited contenders for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania – Democrat Bob Casey, Jr. and incumbent Senator Republican Rick Santorum – to a forum on climate change. Casey appeared and endorsed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, Santorum declined to attend.
The Great Warming is set to open in 34 theaters around the country on the weekend of November 3. To find out where the film will be playing, visit www.thegreatwarming.com.
Special note to BushGreenwatch subscribers in the Los Angeles area: You are invited to attend a special advance screening of The Great Warming on Wednesday, October 25, at the Pacific Design Center. Click here to RSVP
