Evangelicals and Climate Change

An ad campaign on country music radio stations in the South is urging Evangelical Christians to support Congressional Global Warming legislation. Using Biblical references - "God's creation cries out for relief" - the spots are causing grief among economic conservatives who opposed the Waxman-Markey climate bill which passed the House last week.

As the battle moves to the Senate, this is exactly the kind of outreach to socially conservative religious groups that President Obama had in mind when he invited Rick Warren to give the benediction at the inauguration.

And it helps explain why this president moves cautiously on liberal social agenda issues which trouble some religious voters.

Look for more efforts to recruit evangelicals into an environmental and economic populist coalition.