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Christian groups denying human-induced climate change

Laura Hennemann /ssApril 9, 2013

There are several Christian movements that oppose taking action against global warming. Two of the most prominent are the Acton Institute and the Cornwall Alliance.

Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty

The Acton Institute was founded in 1990. It describes itself as an educational and research think-tank dealing with the synthesis of Judeo-Christian theology and free market economics. Their motto is connecting good intentions with sound economics.

Dr. Jay W. Richards, former Acton research fellow and director of Acton media, wrote in a comment in 2006: “Global warming certainly deserves more study, but we should not undertake draconian policies based on the myth that this is an emergency that demands a drastic cutback in CO2 emissions. Doing that would create a decidedly non-mythical humanitarian emergency by imposing unnecessary costs on the people who can least afford to pay them. Greenhouse gas limitations would spike the cost of energy, bad news for any consumer who has to fill a gas tank or heat a home, particularly for lower income families.“

CornwallAlliance for the Stewardship of Creation

In 2000, the “Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship” marked the start of the Cornwall Alliance. In the more recent “Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming” from 2009, the alliance writes: “We believe Earth and its ecosystems – created by God’s intelligent design and infinite power and sustained by His faithful providence – are robust, resilient, self-regulating, and self-correcting, admirably suited for human flourishing, and displaying His glory. Earth’s climate system is no exception. Recent global warming is one of many natural cycles of warming and cooling in geologic history.”

“We call on political leaders to adopt policies that protect human liberty, make energy more affordable, and free the poor to rise out of poverty, while abandoning fruitless, indeed harmful policies to control global temperature.”