Reeves & Morissette Nudge the Religious Right

The Christian Sciene Monitor reports that a Canadian documentary on climate change is taking hold with America's religious right. "The Great Warming", narrated by Keanu Reeves and Alanis Morissette, emphasizes global warming as a moral issue:

"As a deeply committed pastor in Atlanta's African-American community, the Rev. Gerald Durley had long thought of himself as enlightened and involved when it came to issues that hurt people's lives. He felt he was fulfilling his responsibilities to others. Until, he says, he saw the film "The Great Warming" last May.

"'My total perspective on environmental issues and life in general was drastically altered,' says the pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church. 'This went beyond any political, racial, or gender issues - it is a moral crisis.'

"The Great Warming" - a documentary made in Canada and narrated by actor Keanu Reeves and singer Alanis Morissette - tells the same disturbing story as Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." But it has become a strategic vehicle for reaching out particularly to Evangelicals, many of whom were unlikely to rush to see the Gore production. Some hope it spurs a tipping point in the attitudes of grass-roots Christians.

"Many conservative Christians have held a negative view of environmentalism, some even calling activists "pantheistic tree-huggers." Along with the Bush administration, they have insisted that the scientific evidence isn't yet in.

"The dramatic film travels the globe from China to Peru, Bangladesh to southern California, depicting the impact of climate change on human lives and detailing the scientific evidence. It also presents the voice of a new Evangelical leadership "converted" to the movement, in language the faithful can appreciate.

"With global warming affecting poor countries more than the developed world, Dr. Campolo says, there is a biblical imperative for a wealthy America, responsible for at least 25 percent of global carbon emissions, to act.

"Such Evangelical leaders remain under fire from colleagues, but they are counting on the film to change minds, starting with pastors.

"Spiritual leaders are waking up to this broader responsibility, and congregations really respect what their local pastor says," Dr. Hunter adds. "Just as all politics is local, all spiritual growth is local. As more pastors are aware of this challenge, it will gain traction - and quickly, I think."

"Durley is equally optimistic about the black church community. "There has been a raising of the veil of ignorance around this issue. As we talk to people throughout the South, they ask, 'How can we get mobilized?' "