The National Association of Evangelicals has approved a statement calling on evangelicals to be more involved in public policy.
The organization’s board of directors unanimously adopted the document titled “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility” at an Atlanta meeting Oct. 7.
“Never before has God given American evangelicals such an awesome opportunity to shape public policy in ways that could contribute to the well-being of the entire world,” reads the 12-page document. “Disengagement is not an option.”
The document addresses issues ranging from religious freedom to poverty to recycling. A draft was circulated among 100 evangelical leaders before the recent vote.
The organization, in releasing the document, called it “a milestone in the movement of evangelicals from the insularity of a revival tent mind-set in the early 20th century to the political activism of the 21st century.”
Cooperate with others
The statement outlines areas on which evangelicals tend to agree — such as opposition to abortion and “innovations such as same-sex ‘marriage’” — but the document also urges evangelicals to cooperate with others for the greater good of society.
“We will differ with other Christians and with non-Christians over the best policies,” the statement reads. “We must take care to employ the language of civility and to avoid denigrating those with whom we disagree.”
The document encourages Christians to stay politically informed, vote and remain in touch with government representatives about their biblical values.
“We urge all Christians to take their civic responsibility seriously even when they are not full-time political activists so that they might more adequately call those in government to their task,” it reads.
The statement is part of the National Association of Evangelicals’ Evangelical Project for Public Engagement, which began in 2001.
The association’s project also includes a book that is set to be released next March when the association holds a meeting in Washington.
The association represents at least 10 million U.S. Christians in about 50 denominations and in 250 other ministries.
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