There’s a new voice in the debate over President Bush’s energy policy: God’s. Religious groups in the United States are increasingly invoking the word of God to oppose drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, support stricter fuel-efficiency standards, and call for increased reliance on renewable energy. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment, a coalition of 135,000 congregations of many denominations, circulated letters to senators yesterday calling for a more progressive energy policy. The letters were signed by 1,200 religious leaders. It seems some peace has been made between religious followers (traditionally painted as conservatives) and environmentalists (traditionally painted as wacky lefties): Phil Taylor, the 19-year-old founder of Christian Youth for Conservation and once a campaigner for Bush, said, “I personally thank [environmentalists] for taking up our slack.”
