Will Evangelical Christians Be the New Climate Leaders of 2016?
When Pope Francis released his groundbreaking Encyclical, Laudato Si, the impact it would have on the Catholic community was to be expected. As it turns out, Catholics aren't the only people of faith gleaning climate motivation from the papal edict. American Protestants, who have historically experienced low climate engagement are undergoing an uptick in the way they view creation and the role of faith leaders in climate advocacy.
Four leading Evangelical Christian groups—the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Lausanne Creation Care Action Network, Tearfund, and A Rocha International—have publically displayed support of Pope Francis' creation care initiatives, sharing in a joint statement:
“As evangelical leaders, we commit to bringing the Paris Agreement home to the countries where we are represented all around the world, and to play our part in celebrating and promoting it, in working for its implementation and delivery, and in challenging governments and world leaders in the months and years ahead to strengthen it in the ways still needed.”
Evangelical Christians comprise the largest segment of American Christianity, with an astounding number of self-identifying Evangelicals holding public office. While the number of Evangelical leaders speaking on behalf of the climate has increased, the figures are still quite low, suggesting that climate initiatives stemming from the Paris Agreement must regear their focus to amplify the voices of those Evangelical leaders that are taking a stand for creation.
Check out what A Rocha was up to at COP21:
Not Just Pope Francis: Evangelicals Praise Paris Climate Talks
Morgan Lee | Christianity Today
Pope Francis isn’t the only Christian applauding the outcome of the recent Paris climate talks.
Four leading evangelical groups—the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Lausanne Creation Care Action Network, Tearfund, and A Rocha International—have joined him.
“As evangelical leaders, we commit to bringing the Paris Agreement home to the countries where we are represented all around the world, and to play our part in celebrating and promoting it, in working for its implementation and delivery, and in challenging governments and world leaders in the months and years ahead to strengthen it in the ways still needed,” the groups wrote in a joint statement.
They committed to "supporting and engaging with other national and global processes which promote care for God’s creation and love for our neighbors suffering the impacts of environmental degradation."
"We will never stop speaking out and engaging the evangelical constituency with these critical issues until humanity’s relationship with God’s creation has truly returned to one of balance and restored relationships, that God intended and the Bible sets out,” they wrote.