Leland L. Glenna is Associate Professor of Rural Sociology and Science, Technology, and Society at The Pennsylvania State University.
When “Farming and Faith Collide”: The Role of Agrarianism and Libertarianism in the Opposition to the ELCA’s Statement on Genetics and Faith
March/April 2018: Dignity, Challenge, and ELCA Social Statements (Volume 18 Issue 2)
Leland L. Glenna, Curtis W. Stofferahn
In 2010, a controversy erupted over the draft of a new social statement on genetics, as some people in farming communities claimed the document labeled using genetically engineered crops as sinful. Glenna and Stofferahn use this case study as a jumping off point to dive into what libertarianism looks like the United States today, particularly in an agrarian context. Can this political stance on the common good be compatible with Christianity?
Commercial Science and World Hunger: Issues of Social Justice Concerning Genetically Modified Organisms
[1] The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s social statement on economic life, “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All,” cites Martin Luther’s assertion that Christians violate God’s commandment, “you shall not kill,” when people lack the ability to meet their basic needs of life.[1] Since nearly one-sixth of the world’s population lacks access to the food necessary […]