Posted on 08/16/2003 11:42:25 AM PDT by Utah Girl
"And God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." — Genesis 1:28
As Gov. Mike Leavitt's nomination Monday to head the Environmental Protection Agency ignited scrutiny of his past policymaking, what has yet to be publicly examined is the impact that his religious faith may have on his environmental views.
His stand on issues that pit human development of natural resources such as oil, gas, timber and minerals against preservation of wilderness, wetlands, clean air and water may well draw some of their shape from the religious and pioneering legacy he has reveled in during his three terms as governor of Utah.
While some may view those as distinctly secular issues, to many they involve deeply held spiritual motivations and beliefs that shape one's world view.
And while Leavitt's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is less likely to be an issue during confirmation hearings than his decisions regarding the Legacy Highway, wilderness designation and nuclear waste, local observers believe the depth of his religious conviction — and the LDS culture he grew up in — will have some impact.
Ted Wilson, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, said Utah's Republican-dominated political circles tend to give a lot of attention to the Genesis chapters in the Bible, and selected passages in LDS scriptures, which talk about the Earth being the "dominion of man."
"As a land-based society the LDS religion grew from, we still reach back to that. And the essence of preserving land these days means government control," something many LDS conservatives find distasteful. Leavitt likes to talk about his family's ranching and farming past, "about the days when his grandfather threw seeds and that type of thing."
Many who tout that philosophy see the environment "as something to be conquered rather than preserved," Wilson said. "I think that's affected him somewhat. He approaches the environment a little like a cattle rancher. While there's nothing wrong with that — you have to fight (insect) infestations and cut hay — I think it made it more difficult for him to become more intimate with such modern issues as global warming and acid rain.
While Wilson doesn't think religion will "pop into his head" as he considers policy, the faith is "more built into his genes as part of his DNA. It comes from the soul and not the conscious mind." The challenge will be that it's often more difficult to overcome one's "inside makeup" than intellectual issues.
Leavitt will have to become comfortable with government intervention into business interests and to demand compliance in order to preserve resources, and that will be "a huge philosophical shift for him."
The LDS Church's earliest leaders made specific statements about caring for the Earth and its creatures. But today, the faith is widely known as a conservative denomination that doesn't make pointed public policy statements on topics it doesn't consider to be moral issues. At least for the past several decades, that includes the environment.
Some modern LDS leaders have addressed the topic, but not in depth. Current church President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote 20 years ago of majestic mountains, blue sky, sunrise and clouds in reiterating LDS belief that Jesus Christ is the creator of heaven and Earth. "This Earth is his creation. When we make it ugly, we offend him."
Because the subject is not a talking point among Latter-day Saints, most members and outside observers don't identify a specific "environmental theology" with the faith. Yet in recent years leaders of other major Christian denominations have issued treatises detailing their philosophy regarding care for God's creation. The situation leaves interpretation of Leavitt's religious upbringing and its influence on his policymaking an open question.
Clayton White, professor of zoology at Brigham Young University, believes Leavitt will "fall lock-step into what the Bush administration wants to be said . . . Whether that conservative, circular reasoning will stem from his faith or religious convictions, I don't know," but he doesn't think Leavitt will allow "the mind-set of the average LDS conservative to influence his decisions."
Don't expect any overt show of religious influence such as was displayed by former Interior Secretary James Watt, an evangelical Christian. During his term in the Reagan administration, Watt was lambasted for minimizing environmental concerns by stating his belief that Jesus Christ's Second Coming was imminent.
"That statement came right out of his central view as a Christian that we're headed into what's called the 'last days,' " White said. "I don't think Leavitt will go that far, and I don't think there are any statements in his faith that would back him up on that."
White does expect Leavitt to be "very much pro-progress, and for him progress means development, and I believe in his mind that's building something" like the Legacy Highway. As a consultant on that project, White has often questioned advocates about why they believe additional lanes on I-15 wouldn't ease traffic congestion without the need for another highway.
"Their circularity and reasoning of why they wanted it was astonishing to me. It always went back to the governor having worked on it."
Thomas Alexander, a professor of history at BYU, said many have the perception "that Mormons don't care about the environment . . . that it doesn't matter what we do here on Earth because when Christ comes the second time he's going to clean things up anyway. It's nonsense, but that's what a lot of people think."
Church founder Joseph Smith and church president Brigham Young's teachings were "extremely environmentally friendly," and "saw animals and plants as having eternal souls and that they would be resurrected and that Earth itself is a living organism."
He noted early apostle and U.S. Rep. Reed Smoot sponsored legislation to create the U.S. Forest Service and establish Zion and Bryce canyons as national parks.
Wow, where's the barf alert? Leavitt apparently has this religious faith that is going to inspire him in insidious ways -- he better be careful to overcome it before it affects his policy.
You gotta watch out when you let religious people do anything; they might try to involve God.
What happens to those of us who agree with this guy's policies but don't arrive at our positions because of a religious faith? We excluded too?
The left steadfastly refuses to believe that a farmer or rancher might have any consideration for the environment. When, actually, farmers and ranchers (and hunters and fisherman) have far more at stake and, thus, far more respect for the environment than does the Sierra Club, the NRDC or any other liberal enviro-whacko.
One is actually concerned with preserving the environment, the other focussed on destroying the economy and making America safe for socialism.
do you really believe the drivel you posted?
does the fact the he doesn't smoke mean he'll automaticly lower the emissions out of power plants?
or the fact the he has morals mean that the dweebs that patronize the burning man orgy, will be shut out of Nevada?
scrupels are not a bad thing and you might want to talk to someone with them to find out just how they do affect judgement.
it aint all bad my freind...
It's sarcasm. I tried to make my statement as ridiculous as possible, but the article itself was so ridiculous I had a hard time topping it.
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