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Evangelicals rebuff Right’s attack on green activist

by
14 March 2007

by a staff reporter

THE PRESIDENT of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in the United States, the Revd Leith Anderson, has given strong backing to his vice-president, the Revd Richard Cizik, in the face of sharp criticism from the religious Right over climate change.

In the run-up to a meeting of the NAE last week, a letter criticising Mr Cizik for his espousal of environmental causes was tabled by a group of 25 conservative Evangelicals. Most prominent among the signatories were Dr James Dobson, the chairman of Focus on the Family, and Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council.

“While many of us consider Richard to be a friend, he regularly speaks without authorisation for the entire organisation and puts forward his own political opinions as scientific fact,” the letter stated.

“The existence of global warming and its implications for mankind is a subject of heated controversy throughout the world,” the letter said. “It does appear that the earth is warming, but the disagreement focuses on why it might be happening and what should be done about it. We believe it is unwise for an NAE officer to assert conclusively that those questions have been answered, or that the membership as a whole has taken a position on a matter. . .

“If he cannot be trusted to articulate the views of American Evangelicals on environmental issues, then we respectfully suggest that he be encouraged to resign his post.”

It appears that Mr Cizik has offended the conservatives on two fronts: attempting to ally them with environmental campaigning groups on what passes for the Left in US politics; and broadening the range of targets for Evangelical action, which, by implication, could dissipate the effort on what the Right see as the key issues.

The letter talks of Mr Cizik’s “using the global-warming controversy to shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time, notably the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and the teaching of sexual abstinence and morality to our children. In their place has come a preoccupation with climate concerns that extend beyond the NAE’s mandate.”

A year ago, a similar group had forced the NAE to stay out of an anti-global-warming coalition. This time, though, the group’s move failed. Mr Anderson told The Washington Post that Mr Cizik was “a great asset”. At last week’s meeting, he reported, “there was a lot of support from me, from the executive committee, and from the board for Rich Cizik.” Mr Anderson also complained that the letter had been released to the news media before being given to NAE staff. “I guess that says it all.”

Mr Cizik has declined to comment on the letter. But he is quoted in Christianity Today as saying: “There are people who, because of my views on climate change, which are very mainstream, want to pin a label of being a political liberal on me, which, of course, is not true.”

The Revd Jim Wallis, leader of the radical group Sojourners, challenged Dr Dobson to a debate, asking: “Are the only really ‘great moral issues’ those concerning abortion, gay marriage, and the teaching of sexual abstinence? How about the reality of three billion of God’s children living on less than $2 per day? What about pandemics like HIV/AIDS . . . and disastrous wars like Iraq?”

Mr Wallis said: “James Dobson and the religious Right are outside the Evangelical mainstream. That’s just a fact. That doesn’t mean they have no power. . . But their monologue is over. Their control of the agenda is over.”

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