USA - The largest coalition of U.S. evangelicals has stepped away from its pro-death penalty stance

The largest coalition of U.S. evangelicals has stepped away from its pro-death penalty stance, which it embraced for the past 40 years. On Monday the board of the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Evangelicals approved a resolution that changed its 1973 resolution that favoured the death penalty. It did not remove support for the death penalty, but does now acknowledge evangelicals who oppose it. The board of the announced Monday that evangelicals who both support and oppose the death penalty can legitimately ground their beliefs in Christian ethics. The decision, made by resolution, reflects a larger societal shift away from the practice, though it does not reverse the earlier support for the death penalty. “This is a sign of shifting, but not decidedly changing sides, on the death penalty,” said Ed Stetzer, a Southern Baptist and executive director of LifeWay Research, an evangelical research firm. “A strong majority of evangelicals are still in favor of the death penalty, but that’s moving from an overwhelming majority to a strong one,” Stetzer added. “My guess is that shifting will continue; that’s why they are called trends; they continue.” The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, continues to support the death penalty. In the resolution, the NAE board said: “Evangelical Christians differ in their beliefs about capital punishment, often citing strong biblical and theological reasons either for the just character of the death penalty in extreme cases or for the sacredness of all life, including the lives of those who perpetrate serious crimes and yet have the potential for repentance and reformation. “We affirm the conscientious commitment of both streams of Christian ethical thought,” it continues. The NAE, which represents more than 10 million Americans and 45,000 congregations, is not the first large evangelical group to adjust its death penalty views. Earlier this year, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, which represents 3,000 congregations, advocated for an end of capital punishment. The softening of evangelicals’ support for the death penalty is particularly significant in light of their strong support compared with other religious groups. A report from the Public Religion Research Institute from September 2014 found that 59 percent of white evangelical Protestants — more than any other religious group surveyed — preferred the death penalty to life in prison with no chance of parole for those convicted of murder (see Sept. 23, 2014). According to a March 2015 Pew Research Center survey (see April 16) 71 % of white evangelicals support the death penalty This was less than 2011, when the support was at 77 %. Shane Claiborne, a Christian activist based in Philadelphia, told The Washington Post: "The new resolution is one small step for the NAE, but is one giant leap for abolition." "Over 85 % of executions in the last 40 years have been in the Bible belt. As death penalty scholar and death row chaplain Dale Recinella puts it, 'The Bible belt has become the death belt.'" He challenged this reality, highlighting the cruel irony that while evangelicals sing "Amazing Grace" on a Sunday, they are happy to show a convict none when it comes to capital punishment: "The Bible would be much shorter without grace. But for far too long we've missed the fact that every time we execute someone we undermine the very message of God's redeeming love."