45,000-strong evangelical group breaks with Bush on torture

RAW STORYPublished: Wednesday March 14, 2007

The National Association of Evangelicals, representing roughly 45,000 churches across the U.S. endorsed a declaration against torture put together by Evangelicals for Human Rights Tuesday - an organization of 17 evangelical scholars, in a striking break from the Bush Administration's policy.

"Tragically, documented cases of torture and inhumane and cruel behaviour have occurred at various sites in the war on terror, and current law opens procedural loopholes for more to continue," the evangelicals' statement declares.

"There is a perception out there in the Middle East that we're willing to accept any action in order to fight this war against terrorism," the NAE's Rev. Rich Cizik told AP. "We are the conservatives — let there be no mistake on that — who wholeheartedly support the war against terror, but that does not mean by any means necessary."

"As American Christians, we are above all motivated by a desire that our nation's actions would be consistent with foundational Christian moral norms," the document adds. "We believe that a scrupulous commitment to human rights, among which is the right not to be tortured, is one of these Christian moral convictions."

Their full statement follows.