"Churches Step Up Environmental Activism"

"With a Bible in one hand and a protest sign in the other, many religious activists are now moving in lockstep with the environmental movement in the fight against oil and gas drilling."



"Stewardship of the Earth is hardly a new concept in Christian thought - it’s mentioned in Genesis - but a growing school of theological thought leaders are getting out of the pew, marching on the picket line, and becoming specific-issue activists.

'We’ve seen a transition occur over the last 10 years, particularly in the American evangelical movement,' said Joseph Grieboski, founder and chairman of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. 'We’ve seen entire denominations take positions on things like fracking. As energy becomes a more important priority the religious community is going to feel a greater demand to be engaged in the public discourse about it.'

Some denominations, such as the United Church of Christ (UCC), have taken direct aim at fracking, the natural gas extraction technique used extensively in the Marcellus Shale and other fuel reserves across the nation."

Ben Wolfgang reports for the Washington Times March 28, 2012.

Source: Washington Times, 03/29/2012