Baptist Environmentalism: A Plea For Concrete Action
By Aaron D. Weaver, Baylor University, Waco, TX
Baptists as a whole have a mixed track record when it comes to the environment. Some Baptist groups such as the American Baptist Churches USA as well as some moderate Baptists in the South have voiced their concern on environmental issues since the first Earth Day in 1970. Other Baptists, particularly those who are more theologically conservative, have only decided to join the conversation in recent years. In response to the birth and growth of the modern environmental movement, numerous resolutions and policy statements have been made by a wide variety of mostly Anglo Baptist groups in the United States. While many of these official statements are substantive expressions of concerns for the environment, they also embody what has been called “resolutionary Christianity” and point to the need for concrete action that moves beyond reflection.
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA) have taken strong stands on a variety of environmental issues from the outset of the modern environmental movement. In 1977, during the height of the Mideast Oil Crisis, ABC-USA adopted a policy statement which called on American Baptists to exercise responsible stewardship of energy resources through the conservation of fossil fuels in order to avoid contributing to the “pollution of the environment and rape of the earth.”www.thebigdaddyweave.com .
www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/energy.htm (all internet sites accessed July 9, 2009).
www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/hazmat.htm .
www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/environ.htm. A policy statement adopted the year before in 1982 by the General Board urged American Baptists to educate themselves and the public on the ecological concerns relating to nuclear power. See American Baptist Churches USA, “American Baptist Resolution on Nuclear Power: Seeking Rational Solutions,” www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/nukepowr.htm .
www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/ecology.htm .
www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=452.
www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=453
www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=997
www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=1159 .
www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-06-13-baptists-warming-vote_N.htm.
www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=1171.
www.thefellowship.info/News/Archive/CBF-demonstrates-commitment-to-U-N–goals-during-G .
www.abpnews.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1538. See also Sierra Club, “Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet, www.sierraclub.org/partnerships/faith/report2008/report2008.pdf.
www.centerforbaptiststudies.org/bulletin/2007/january.htm
www.ethicsdaily.com/print_popup.cfm?AID=11309 .
