“The Earth is the birthplace of our species and, as far as we know, our only home. When our numbers were small and our technology feeble, we were powerless to influence the environment of our world. But today, suddenly, almost without anyone’s noticing, our numbers have become immense and our technology has achieved vast, even awesome, powers. Intentionally or inadvertently, we are now able to make devastating changes in the global environment, an environment to which we and all other beings with which we share the Earth are meticulously and exquisitely adapted.

“We are now threatened by self-inflicted, swiftly moving environmental alterations about whose long-term biological and ecological consequences we are still painfully ignorant… We are close to committing… what in religious language is sometimes called Crimes against Creation.

\“Problems of such magnitude, and solutions demanding so broad a perspective, must be recognized from the outset as having a religious as well as a scientific dimension. Mindful of our common responsibility, we scientists, many of us long engaged in combating the environmental crisis, urgently appeal to the world religious community to commit, in word and deed, and as boldly as is required, to preserve the environment of the Earth.”

Those words, taken from an “Open Letter to the Religious Community” in January 1990 signed by such scientific luminaries as Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan, and E.O. Wilson, sparked an unprecedented response from religious communities across the globe.

Defending themselves against intellectuals who claimed that the Judeo-Christian scripture is responsible for our current environmental woes, religious leaders reinterpreted their scriptures regarding the creation of the Earth to explain that while humans do enjoy a special place in God’s eyes, they also are the chief stewards over God’s creation.

Ten years later, every major religious community had developed a position statement regarding environmental challenges to creation. Here are some excerpts from position statements of three leading Christian organizations regarding our environment (I have included statements from Christian organizations because over 90% of Houstonians said they were Christian in a 1990 poll – but all the other religious communities have similar positions):

From the Evangelical Environmental Network:
“As followers of Jesus Christ, committed to the full authority of the Scriptures, and aware of the ways we have degraded creation, we believe that biblical faith is essential to the solution of our ecological problems. Because we worship and honor the Creator, we seek to cherish and care for the creation. Because we have sinned, we have failed in our stewardship of creation. Therefore we repent of the way we have polluted, distorted, or destroyed so much of the Creator’s work…

“We and our children face a growing crisis in the health of the creation in which we are embedded, and through which, by God’s grace, we are sustained. Yet we continue to degrade that creation… Many of these degradations are signs that we are pressing against the finite limits God has set for creation. With continued population growth, these degradations will become more severe. Our responsibility is not only to bear and nurture children, but to nurture their home on earth.” Full statement at www.creationcare.org.

From the Catholic Community:
“Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the Earth as we have in the past... a new ecological awareness is beginning to emerge... The ecological crisis is a moral issue.” From Pope John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, nos. 1, 15, December 8, 1989.

“At its core, the environmental crisis is a moral challenge. It calls us to examine how we use and share the goods of the earth, that we pass on to future generations, and how we live in harmony with God’s creation… Above all, we seek to explore the links between concern for the person and the earth, between natural ecology and social ecology. The web of life is one. Our mistreatment of the natural world diminishes our own dignity and sacredness, not only because we are destroying resources that future generations of humans need, but because we are engaging in actions that contradict what it means to be human. Our tradition calls us to protect the life and dignity of the human person, and it is increasingly clear that this task cannot be separated from the care and defense of all of creation.” From the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, full statement at www.nccbuscc.org/sdwp/ejp.

From the Protestants, through the National Council of the Churches of Christ and their Eco-Justice Working Group:

“Human beings are called by God to the task of stewardship – taking care of the earth respectfully for its own sake and so that present and future generations may live on it and enjoy its fruits. The gifts of creation and the responsibility of stewardship were given to all of humanity… We have not shared the fruits of creation justly. Some people live in luxury, taking more than they need, while others are desperately poor, especially people of color… God calls the church to participate in the redemption of individuals, all of humanity and creation. Therefore, ministries of environmental stewardship and environmental justice are significant in the mission of our congregations and judicatories.” Full statement at http://www.webofcreation.org/ncc/Workgrp.html.

These statements are significant because they explain that what most Environmental Exchange readers would call an environmental approach is actually a Christian mandate – we are the stewards of our home and we have an obligation to care for it.

While statements are a good place to start, they don’t change things very quickly. That is why these same religious organizations are starting to take action. On April 3, the Scripps Howard News Service reported that faith-based environmental groups are pressuring President Bush to change his position on global warming:

Bush, a born-again Christian, was told by letter that climate change is not merely a matter of science and economics, but a moral imperative. “‘For us, climate change represents the single most comprehensive challenge to all of God’s creation here on Earth,’’ said a letter from the Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign signed by leaders of faith-based environmental groups in 19 states. “It is a test of biblical covenant, a challenge of obedience to God’s mandate of stewardship, and a standard of justice among all of God’s children.’’

A similar letter to Bush last week was signed by mainstream Protestant, evangelical, Jewish, and black religious leaders. Faith-based environmental groups are hoping to appeal to Bush’s religious convictions, which he has said play a central role in his life.

The New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ is “the one who holds all of creation together,” said Cal DeWitt, an evangelical leader with the Wisconsin Climate Campaign.

Followers of Houston politics know that Houston’s churches can strongly influence our local public agenda. The time is ripe to reach out to our religious leaders – to start a dialogue with them about how their congregations can take action to stop the degradation of what they consider to be God’s holy creation.

Our approach must be ecumenical, sustained, and broad. We must reach out to religious members of our organizations and ask them to start such dialogues within their own congregations. We must include local religious leaders whenever we take action in a community – they could be among our biggest supporters. For CEC’s part, we’ll be working to establish relationships with religious leaders across the region in hopes of raising their awareness of our local environmental challenges.

Regardless of your religious convictions, you cannot ignore the significant responsibility that we all have to reach out to our local religious congregations. They may be our most powerful partners yet, especially considering the conservative, religious approach of our current president.