c. 2004 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The National Association of Evangelicals has drafted a proposed statement on civic engagement that urges the nation’s evangelicals to be more involved in public policy.

“Never before has God given American evangelicals such an awesome opportunity to shape public policy in ways that could improve the well-being of the entire world,” reads a draft released Monday (June 21). “Disengagement is not an option.”

The declaration _ which touches on topics ranging from addressing poverty to practicing recycling _ is being circulated among 100 evangelical leaders for comment before the association’s board votes on it in October.

The Washington-based NAE represents at least 10 million U.S. Christians in about 51 denominations and 250 other ministries.

The document delineates areas on which evangelicals tend to agree _ such as opposition to abortion and gay marriage _ but also urges cooperation with those with whom they may differ in order to help improve society.

“ American evangelicals continue to be ambivalent about our commitment to civic engagement,” the document states. “Christianized versions of interest group politics during the last two decades of the 20th century produced access without influence and discouraged many who had become engaged for the first time.”

The 12-page declaration, titled “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility,” also cautions evangelicals in how they approach national and international affairs.

“Evangelicals should join political parties and fully express their biblical values,” it states. “In doing so, they must be careful not to equate Christian faith with partisan politics.”

It also urges them to “avoid the excesses of nationalism” and says they should balance support of the United States “with a love for people of all nations and an active desire to see them prosper.”

The document is part of the NAE’s Evangelical Project for Public Engagement, which began in 2001 and will include a book that is to be released next year by Baker Book House.

Ron Sider, co-chairman of the project and founder of Evangelicals for Social Action, said the declaration intends to give evangelicals a framework for greater involvement.

“The assumption is that it will be a very crucial document in shaping how the NAE, in the next while, works at its public policy work,” he said in an interview.

Diane Knippers, co-chairwoman of the project and president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, said she hopes the declaration will lead to more regular contributions from evangelicals to matters of public policy.

“I think that evangelicals should be inspired to be involved in politics day in and day out, not just when there’s something big and controversial,” she said in an interview. “I think that’s happening already. This will encourage it.”

If politics is the art of compromise, Knippers said she hopes the document will show evangelicals it is possible to uphold moral absolutes while also making pragmatic decisions shaped by political realities.

“You’re not compromising your faith,” she said. “You’re not compromising your convictions. You’re making prudential judgments about what you can accomplish.”

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