This commentary is by Jennifer Durgin of Wilder, a member of the Vermont chapter of the bipartisan Citizens Climate Lobby. For 17 years, she worked as a professional writer in health care. After being treated for brain cancer, she turned back to her true passion: protecting the environment, which includes humans.
In our politically polarized world, it may seem like climate activists and evangelical Christians share little in common. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this isn’t entirely true.
I was raised Catholic. I went to church every Sunday, prayed the rosary with my mother and siblings, and completed my first communion and confirmation. I left the faith as a young adult for a variety of reasons, but I have always been confused why there is not more alignment between devout Christians and people committed to protecting the planet.
Caring for God’s creation is the first command given by God to humanity in the book of Genesis (Genesis 1:28). I learned that from a recent lecture that I reluctantly attended. Why was I reluctant? Well, the speaker was an evangelical reverend, and I am a member of a Unitarian Universalist Church.
In March, Rev. Mitchell C. Hescox told over a hundred members of the Citizens Climate Lobby (a national organization) that evangelicals are called by Scripture to protect God’s creation and the most vulnerable among us. In other words, God calls Christians to protect the health of our planet, children, pregnant women, the poor, and the elderly.
Hescox is the president and chief executive officer of the Evangelical Environmental Network. As Rev. Hescox said, you can’t be pro-life without caring about the dire consequences of toxins, pollution, greenhouse gases, and a warming planet.
What a revelation! Liberal climate activists can find common ground with evangelicals. And that could lead to bipartisan support to advance policies that will reduce greenhouse gases and toxic pollution.
That sort of bipartisanship is already happening in some committees in Washington, D.C., and is critical to advancing initiatives within the new farm bill.
Democracy is all about compromise, finding common ground. While we won’t all agree on everything, we must find hope in such alliances.
Reach out to your local, state, and federal leaders. Let them know that you want action, now. Tell them to support policies that ensure a healthy and livable future for humanity. That should not be a partisan issue.
