Rhetorical Features of Green Evangelicalism

Ethics and public perception of climate change: Exploring the Christian voices in the US public debate

“…It is not surprising that it would take more time among conservative evangelicals. Prelli and Winters (2009) suggest that evangelical support is likely to increase due to an ongoing generational shift. High media coverage on climate change during 2006 6 and onwards (Boykoff, 2007;Boykoff and Mansfield, 2009) may have enhanced the success of this new discourse.…”

“…Conservational stewardship seems to hold much in common with mainstream environmental concerns, and even with 'green romanticism' (cf. Prelli and Winters, 2009). Developmental stewardship holds more in common with 'sustainable development' discourses and presents a narrative that seems much more appealing to political conservatives than does conservational stewardship.…”

Let There Be Highlights

“…Lawrence J. Prelli and Terri S. Winters (2009) argued that there exists a growing 'green evangelicalism', a subset of mainline evangelical thought, that is concerned about the environment and believes humans play a role in combating climate change. This shift is happening, they claimed, because young people are increasingly interested in the environment, more so than their elders, and are causing shifts in their denomination's thinking.…”

Introduction

“…While acknowledging that religious beliefs are not the only factors influencing attitudes toward climate change, they identify a number of religious beliefs that appear to encourage skepticism, suggesting that religion is an important factor influencing climate change attitudes within this group. Carr and his colleagues' study is by no means the first on this topic (see especially Keams 2007Keams , 2012McCammack 2007;Nagle 2008;Prelli and Winters 2009;Simmons 2009;Wilkinson 2010Wilkinson , 2012. With the exception of Wilkinson, however, these have focused on movement leaders, whereas Carr and his colleagues examine whether the alleged greening of evangelicalism has reached laypeople in the pews.…”