Christian conservatives take on tobacco
While Christian conservatives are known for several causes—opposition to abortion, opposition to gay marriage, and opposition to the teaching of evolution as fact—another cause is now gaining support among people of faith: opposition to smoking.
A key figure in the national movement turns out to be an activist often associated with liberal causes, Vincent DeMarco, who led successful campaigns in his home state of Maryland to get the legislature to adopt handgun control measures as well as raise the tax on cigarettes.
"The faith community played such a central role in our gun control work that I thought maybe we could do the same with tobacco," DeMarco says.
DeMarco is the coordinator of Faith United Against Tobacco and a consultant with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, both groups working to prevent teen smoking and to get Congress to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco.
A bill giving the FDA that power passed the Senate but has been languishing in the House.
On July 13, faith leaders of a wide variety, including liberals and non-Christians, will meet in House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's district on the outskirts of Houston to urge him to back the legislation. DeLay knows well that people of faith have become a powerful force in American politics.
Southern Baptists, who number about 16 million and often champion conservative causes, adopted a resolution last month at their 2005 Southern Baptist Convention to "add our efforts...to work to reduce tobacco use, especially among teenagers."
For some, the antitobacco campaign has a scriptural foundation in the teachings of Paul in 1 Corinthians (6:19-20): "Or do you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit...?"
"The most interesting thing is how this issue has united the faith community," DeMarco says. "From left to right, they want to prevent tobacco addiction, particularly among children and are willing to fight for it like David fought Goliath."
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