The New York Times
Southern Baptists
Back a Shift on Climate Change
By Neela Banerjee
Signaling a significant departure from the Southern Baptist
Convention’s official stance on global warming,
44 Southern Baptist leaders have decided to back a declaration calling for more
action on climate change, saying its previous position on the issue was “too
timid.”
The largest denomination in the
Yet its current president, the Rev. Frank Page,
signed the initiative, “A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and
Climate Change.” Two past presidents of the convention, the Rev. Jack Graham
and the Rev. James Merritt, also signed.
“We believe our current denominational engagement
with these issues has often been too timid, failing to produce a unified moral
voice,” the church leaders wrote in their new declaration.
A 2007 resolution passed by the convention hewed
to a more skeptical view of global warming.
In contrast, the new declaration, which will be
released Monday, states, “Our cautious response to these issues in the face of
mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and
ill-informed.”
The document also urges ministers to preach more
about the environment and for all Baptists to keep an open mind about
considering environmental policy.
Jonathan Merritt, the spokesman for the Southern
Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative and a seminarian at Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary in
The Southern Baptist signatories join a growing
community of evangelicals pushing for more action among believers, industry and
politicians. Experts on the Southern Baptist Convention noted the initiative
marked the growing influence of younger leaders on the discussions in the
Southern Baptist Convention.
While those younger Baptists remain committed to
fight abortion, for instance, the environment is now a top priority, too.
“In no way do we intend to back away from
sanctity of life,” said the Rev. Dr. Timothy George, dean of
Still, many powerful Southern Baptist leaders and
agencies did not sign the declaration, including the convention’s influential
political arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Dr. Barrett Duke, vice president for public
policy at the commission, played down the differences between the declaration
and the Southern Baptist Convention’s position.
The declaration says in fact that lack of
scientific unanimity should not preclude “prudent action,” which includes
changing individual habits and giving “serious consideration to responsible
policies that effectively address” global warming.
The declaration is the outgrowth of
soul-searching by Mr. Merritt, 25. The younger Mr. Merritt said that for years
he had been “an enemy of the environment.” Then, he said, he had an epiphany.
“I learned that God reveals himself through
Scripture and in general through his creation, and when we destroy God’s
creation, it’s similar to ripping pages from the Bible,” Mr. Merritt said.