Evangelical Leaders Call Global Warming a Moral and Spiritual Crisis

(Logo: http: //www. While religion and spirituality
are rich with various sources of personal meaning, they also have profound
public significance. Metanexus is
a leader in a growing network of individuals and groups exploring the dynamic
interface between cosmos, nature, and culture in communities and on campuses
throughout the world. Projects include the Local
Societies Initiative, the Templeton Research Lectures, and topical
interdisciplinary research projects such as the Spiritual Transformation
Scientific Research Program, Spiritual Capital Research Program, Foundational
Questions in Physics and Cosmology, as well as studies of religion and health,
religion and human flourishing, and other endeavors. The film differs significantly from the novel of the same
name, which emphasizes the power of faith as a hopeful force, but does not
side with any particular religion.
Issue #5 of Citizen Culture Magazine is on-sale now at Barnes + Noble,
Hudson News, and directly from http: //www.citizenculture. Other highlights
include interviews with Bill Maher of HBO's Real Time and actor Steve Zahn, a
special feature on independent fashion design, and articles written by two of
the country's leading Jewish and Muslim scholars.

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Peter Borgdorff, head of the Christian Reformed Church, said the
statement was notable because of its Christian foundation and motivation, and
the specificity of its call for personal and government action on the issue of
climate change."
Jo Anne Lyon, executive director of World Hope International, said: "The
evangelical community has worked in poor countries for many years, spending
billions of dollars to help people meet their basic needs and to share the
Good News about Jesus Christ. It will also facilitate a broader
range of study by bringing together a network of scholars, to be
known as the Institute for Economic Research on Civilizations (IERC), to
promote comparative research and raise the level of discourse on the role of
various religions and forms of spiritual capital in the economic performance
of civilizations .
The Metanexus Institute is interested in supporting high-level, impartial
scholarship on the contribution of religion - both for good and for ill - to
economic and social developments. Full grant applications will then be invited for a total of $1.

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Leith Anderson, senior pastor of Wooddale Church near Minneapolis and
former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said, "When a
major challenge like this is recognized, leaders must lead."
The text reads in part: "With the same love of God and neighbor that compels
us to preach salvation through Jesus Christ, protect unborn life, preserve the
family and the sanctity of marriage, defend religious freedom and human
dignity, and take the whole Gospel to a hurting world, we the undersigned
evangelical leaders resolve to come together with others of like mind to pray
and to work to stop global warming.

Three Grants of $500 000 Each Awarded for Research on 'Spiritual Capital' by Metanexus Institute

com/cgi -bin/prnh/20050324/PHTH031LOGO )
The term "spiritual capital" refers to the economic and social
consequences of religion and spirituality.
"Now seems an ideal time to understand and assess the public effects of
spiritual and religious action because there seems to be a growing openness in
the social sciences towards non-material factors," says Sargeant.
In The Wealth of Nations , Adam Smith raised key questions for the economic
analysis of religion and looked at the effects of competition among religions
and the dangers of government of religion.org

In 2000 ,
Icon Productions, Gibson's production company, made Bless the Child, a
staunchly pro-Christian movie replete with anti-Scientology references.citizenculture.

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"
The statement, Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action, establishes
that Christian moral convictions demand a response to the climate change
problem, and calls on governments, business, churches and individuals to play
a role. "The most important step that
can be taken at the federal level," the statement reads , "is to pass and
implement national legislation requiring sufficient economy-wide reductions in
carbon dioxide emissions through cost effective, market-based mechanisms such
as a cap-and-trade program .
Rev.
"This is a positive step based on the hope that God will help Americans
lead on this issue," Borgdorff said. The Spiritual Capital Research Program will fund high-
level research that could lead to new understandings of religion's role in
economic, social and political life.

D."
Principal investigators heading the award-winning teams and their projects
are:

Laurence Iannaccone, Koch Professor of Economics at George Mason
University: Creating an "Ecology " for the Study of Religion, Economics, and
Spiritual Capital.
For further information on the Spiritual Capital Research Program,
including submission guidelines for the new granting opportunities , or to
request a program brochure, visit http://www.metanexus. Metanexus leads and
facilitates over 300 projects in 36 countries. http://www.templeton.
"Gibson's professional proximity - - and perhaps friendship -- to his
colleagues of high grandeur [including noted Scientologists John Travolta, Tom
Cruise, and others], not to mention the Hollywood political game, may explain
the film's cryptic bludgeoning rather than outright deprecation of
Scientology.

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The signers include Rick Warren, author of the runaway best seller, The
Purpose Driven Life, and the leaders of the two largest charitable
organizations in the country: Rich Stearns, president of World Vision, and
Commissioner Todd Bassett, national commander of The Salvation Army. In addition, "63 percent of evangelicals
believe that while global warming may be a long-term issue, the problem is
being caused today, so we must start addressing it immediately," Sellers said.
The print ad has a partial list of the signatories and is headlined: "Our
commitment to Jesus Christ compels us to solve the global warming crisis . Sargeant,
Ph.
Since then, social scientists have vigorously debated the concept of
social capital, but spiritual capital - a sub-set of the field - remains
relatively understudied.
In addition to the three funded projects that are just beginning, the
Metanexus Institute has issued a new call for proposals for $150,000 research
grants for interdisciplinary studies on the economic and social consequences
of religion and spirituality.net/spiritual_capital
or contact project manager Christopher Stawski at
SpiritualCapital@metanexus.
Gibson's challenge to the Church of Scientology is the subject of an
investigation in the current issue of Citizen Culture Magazine -- the new
magazine that has been called "A New Yorker for a New Generation."
In Bless the Child, "The New Dawn" -- a fictionalized religion that
borrows Scientology's symbols and rhetoric -- is ultimately defeated by
Catholic believers.com.

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Other signatories include denominational leaders Jack Hayford (Foursquare
Gospel), Peter Borgdorff (Christian Reformed Church), and Berten Waggoner
(Vineyard), as well as David Neff, executive editor of Christianity Today, and
Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College.
Winners of the invitation-only competition for the three founding grants
in the Spiritual Capital Research Program were announced by Kimon H.

Each project is 30 months in duration, beginning March 2005.

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The document outlining theological and policy imperatives, issued by the
Evangelical Climate Initiative, was signed by leaders of evangelical Christian
denominations, mega-church pastors, Christian college presidents, and CEOs of
major evangelical world relief organizations. Ron
Sellers, president of Ellison Research, said that 70 percent of the
evangelical respondents said they believed global warming would pose a serious
threat to future generations. "As signatories, we are committing
ourselves to use our influence as evangelical leaders to focus attention and
prompt action of Christian believers to work to limit the emissions that are
contributing to disastrous climate change.

http://www. Results will
be disseminated through scholarly and lay publications, conferences, speaking
engagements and websites.net or 215-789-2200. Metanexus sponsors dialogue groups, lectures,
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organization, Metanexus hosts an online magazine and discussion forum with
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countries.

Mel Gibson Citizen Culture Magazine Challenge Church of Scientology

"
(http://www .

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S. In the future, global warming puts at risk our
longstanding efforts to help the poor."
The Evangelical Climate Initiative is a group of more than 85 evangelical
leaders who -- as a result of their commitment to Jesus Christ and concern for
His creation -- have signed the statement entitled Climate Change: An
Evangelical Call to Action; it represents their efforts (signatories sign as
individuals , and not as spokespersons for their respective organizations) 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 .newscom., Director for Research and Programs in the Human Sciences at Metanexus.

Robert Woodberry , Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of
Texas at Austin: Project on Religion and Economic Change. Letters of intent are due no later than April
15, 2005."
Bless the Child, which was co-produced by Paramount Pictures and starred
Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Rufus Sewell and child prodigy Holliston Coleman,
performed less successfully at the box office than The Passion (re-released in
March as The Passion Recut), which highlighted Gibson's fundamentalist
Christian views.

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government to establish limits on emissions."

Poll Results Indicate Growing Evangelical Concern
The group also announced that a new poll by Ellison Research showed strong
concern among evangelicals for responsible care of the environment. "The
consequences of global warming," the statement reads , "will hit the poor the
hardest, in part because those areas likely to be significantly affected first
are the poorest regions of the world. PHILADELPHIA, Three distinguished scholars have
each received grants of $500,000 to lead teams of researchers in order to
create a new interdisciplinary field of "Spiritual Capital" research. Only in recent years have leading scholars,
including Nobel laureate economists Gary Becker and Robert Fogel and political
scientists John DiIulio and Robert Putnam, called renewed attention to the
effects of spiritual and religious practices, beliefs and institutions on
economics, politics and societies.5
million in research funds.metanexus.com)
The article, entitled "Scientology's Night at the Movies," was written by
editor-in-chief Jonathon Scott Feit, based on earlier research published in
the Journal of Media and Religion. In the twenty -first
century, to denounce it publicly or shun it is to risk being blacklisted as
were celebrities and filmmakers suspected of being Communism-friendly in the
1950s.

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Citing higher sea levels , more frequent heat waves and droughts, increased
tropical diseases, and reduction in agricultural output as likely results of
"even small rises in global temperature," the statement declares: "This is
God's world, and any damage that we do to God's world is an offense against
God himself."
Rev."

Advertising Campaign
The Evangelical Climate Initiative also announced an advertising campaign
that will present the themes of the climate statement through a series of
national television, radio, and print ads, beginning with a full-page ad in
The New York Times February 9 .ChristiansAndClimate.
This project includes the development of an international Consortium for
the Economic Study of Religion (CESR), bringing visiting scholars together at
George Mason University for interdisciplinary and collaborative workshops,
classes, research projects and conferences, instituting an economics-as-
religion concentration for doctoral students, and creating a global network of
scholars and institutes. http://www.
Feit writes that, "Scientology is either Hollywood's latest 'dirty word'
or its Holy Grail, depending on who is being asked.

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"

Concern for Impacts on People , Especially the Poor
The statement highlights a strong concern for the impact global warming
will have on people, especially poor nations and individuals.org

The
grants are awarded through a program of the Metanexus Institute on Religion
and Science, supported by generous funding from the John Templeton Foundation.

Timur Kuran, Professor of Economics and Law and King Faisel Professor of
Islamic Thought and Culture at the University of Southern California: The Role
of Religion in the Economic Performance of Civilizations. One section will analyze the impact of 150 years of
missionary activity; a second section will analyze the economic consequences
of Pentecostal conversions in Brazil; a third section will focus on the
influence of revivalist Islam and Christianity in rural Malawi. The aim of the Spiritual Capital Research
Program is to catalyze the development of this interdisciplinary research
field, which may become a vital new field in the social sciences .

The Metanexus Institute advances scientific research, education and
outreach on the constructive engagement of science and religion. NEW YORK, The Passion of the Christ marked Mel
Gibson's bloodiest commentary on religion, but it wasn't his first. Feit writes that Bless the Child
"resembles so closely the reality of events and perceptions surrounding the
Church of Scientology that it seems to have been written, in everything but
name, as an expose of Scientology's seedy internal operations .

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The Evangelical Climate Initiative Seeks National Legislation to Reduce
Emissions

New Poll Results Show Broad Evangelical Support For Effort

WASHINGTON, A group of more than 85 influential
evangelical leaders released a statement today expressing a biblically driven
commitment to curb global warming and called on the government to enact
national legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are contributing
to global climate change.

Calling on Leadership from Government and Business
For the first time, a major evangelical group is calling on the U. With God's help
we can make a difference . "It is no
longer unusual to consider that trust, behavioral norms and religion can
profoundly shape economic, political and social developments.
Kuran's project will advance ongoing research on the role of Islam, and
especially Islamic law, in the economic performance of the Middle East from
its rise in the 7th century to the present.
This project seeks to evaluate the influence of various religions on
health, education and the economy by measuring religious distinctions and the
resulting impact on national, community and individual levels in societies
around the world . Just 100 years ago Max Weber
published his provocative work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism.net

The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to pursue new insights at
the boundary between theology and science through a rigorous, open-minded and
empirically focused methodology, drawing together talented representatives
from a wide spectrum of fields of expertise .