Washington, USA - A poll released today shows 70 percent of American evangelical Christians see global warming as a "serious threat" to the future of the planet.
Conducted by Ellison Research, the survey indicates a majority of evangelicals agree with 85 Christian leaders who signed an Evangelical Climate Initiative unveiled Feb. 8 that calls for government action to deal with so-called global warming. The initiative includes a campaign of newspaper, TV and radio ads.
Signers of the initiative include, among others, Rick Warren, pastor and author of "The Purpose Driven Life," Rich Stearns, president of World Vision, Commissioner Todd Bassett, national commander of The Salvation Army, and David Neff, executive editor of Christianity Today.
The purpose of the initiative is to "encourage action by evangelical Christians and all Americans to make life changes necessary to help solve the global warming crisis, and to advance legislation that will limit emissions, while respecting economic and business concerns."
According to a statement, the poll included the following results:
* 95 percent of evangelical respondents agreed that "God gave us dominion over His creation, so we have a responsibility to care for it."
* 84 percent of evangelicals agreed that reducing pollution is a form of obedience to the biblical command to love your neighbor.
* 92 percent agreed that "in the long run, it will be cheaper to protect the environment now than to fix it later."
* 95 percent agreed that "a healthy environment helps to keep your family healthy."
* 51 percent said the U.S. should take steps to address global warming, even if there is a high economic cost.
Also, the poll found that two-thirds of evangelicals are either completely or mostly convinced that global warming is actually taking place.
The survey is accurate to within plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level. Funded by the Evangelical Environmental Network, the poll took place in September.