That's especially true about the topic of global warming. A new survey from Southern Baptist-owned LifeWay Research found a split between mainline ministers, like Episcopalians and Methodists, and evangelicals like Southern Baptists. Mainline ministers believe that climate change is manmade and want to take action.

Evangelical ministers, on the other hand, remain skeptical. People in the pews disagree, according to a new poll from the public policy group, Faith in Public Life. It found that "over 60 percent of Americans, including majorities of white evangelical Protestants and Catholics" want to tackle climate change now.

Next month, Merritt will host a green evangelical gathering at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Ga. Called the Flourish Conference, it's part of the so-called Creation Care movement. Merritt says evangelicals have been too slow to act on environmental issues, just as they were slow to act on civil rights.

"Once again we've been the caboose instead of leading the train," he said. The Flourish conference, organized by Merritt's son, Jonathan, will focus on theology, not the politics or causes of global warming. Instead, they'll talk about biblical ethics and caring for the earth. "We are really going to focus on the theology of ecology," Merritt said.

"If anybody should be sensitive about the world and taking care of God's creation, it ought to be believers. Focus is personal action Gary Hawkins, a member of the Green Team at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, agrees.

Hawkins and other church members launched a Web site, www.belmontgreenteam.org, with green tips, articles on stewardship and spirituality. There's also a carbon calculator. Using that calculator helps people see how daily living might affect climate change, said Hawkins.

"Even people who thought they were green are surprised," he said. "They're shocked by their carbon footprint." Jim Deming, interim pastor of First United Church in Nashville and former director of Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light, says making a personal connection is key. When he talks to churches, he tries to stay away from guilt and instead focuses on personal action.

"We all have to stand before our maker someday and give account for how we lived our lives," he said. Deming admits he's shied way from talking to evangelicals, and focused on mainline churches instead. That might be a mistake, he said. Deming suspects that evangelicals are less open to green theology.

"You go where you think you'll get a hearing," Deming said. Getting a hearing in evangelical circles, or at least with evangelical ministers, can still be a challenge.

That's, in part, a result of the broader culture wars. Global warming has been labeled an issue for liberal Democrats, said Merritt. Since conservative evangelicals already distrust Democrats on issues like abortion, that distrust bleeds into global warming.

"I call it the Al Gore effect," he said. Susan Bratton, professor of environmental science at Baylor University, says the way congregations govern themselves also plays a role. Bratton, who has a degree from an evangelical seminary as well as her science doctorate, has been teaching about faith and the environment for decades.

Baptist churches value independence. Each church sets its own policies, and calls its own ministers, with no denominational hierarchy looking over their shoulder. That independence also can make Baptists skeptical of government solutions. "Baptists don't want other people telling them what to do," she said.

By contrast, mainline churches and Catholics have a more institutional approach, she said, and may be more open to governmental suggestions.

For Catholics like Dan Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Coalition for Climate Change, being green means following the Pope's example. Misleh's group recently launched a project called the "Saint Francis Pledge," to get Catholics to embrace green issues. It asks them to pray and learn, then assess, act, and advocate for policies to deal with climate change. "Most Catholics believe that climate change is real," Misleh said.

"They want to know what they can do as Catholics to respond." Pope Benedict XVI is leading the way, said Misleh. "The Vatican is on its way to becoming the first carbon-neutral nation," he said.

David Neff, editor of Christianity Today magazine, says evangelicals are drawn to more pragmatic issues - like clean air and clean water. Evangelicals tend to embrace more hands-on sciences, like engineering, and are results driven. "You can take action on clear water and see concrete results," he said. "You can't see that with global warming."

Schools tap into green

If evangelicals are skeptical of global warming, Bratton says, environmental groups bear some blame. Many of them have written off evangelicals. "I think environmental groups should get off their high horse and talk to people," she said.

She says that environmental groups might be surprised to see how green religious schools are. Lipscomb University, a Churches of Christ-related school in Nashville, for example, runs a green MBA program, and uses geothermal energy to heat and cool two buildings on campus.

Baylor, the largest Baptist school in the United States, is buying wind power, said Bratton, and has an extensive recycling program.

The school also has a number of climate scientists on campus, and its environmental science intro courses attract as many as 400 students. Baylor also has research projects on using woodchips and even manure to create biofuels. The programs have not created any controversy.

"Nobody's upset that we have recycling at the Baylor football games," she said.

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