The Christian Century

Adoptions of foreign children have been increasing among some American evangelicals, with children coming from African countries like Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Adoption is often an extension of pro-life beliefs, a way to address world poverty and a means of evangelizing children. It is also seen as a way of emulating God who through Christ has adopted humanity. Of the 201 accredited adoption agencies registered with the U.S. State Department, over 50 are explicitly Christian, not counting the Catholic agencies. Some families in the U.S. have been suspected of neglecting and abusing adopted children. From 6 to 11 percent of international adoptions fail. The failure rate for children adopted as adolescents is about 25 percent (Mother Jones, April 15).

At least since the 1980s American evangelicalism has increasingly associated itself with conservative, often Republican, politics. Comparing evangelicals in the U.S. with those in Brazil, Erin McAdams and Justin Earl Lance found that evangelicals in Brazil are not as conservative. In response to the statement, “The government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep,” 96 percent of Brazilian evangelicals agreed but only 67 percent of Americans did. Brazilian evangelicals are no less theologically orthodox than their American counterparts. One reason for the difference is that no political party in Brazil endorses abortion, which takes that issue off the table. Brazil has a multiparty system and only in 2002 did one party target evangelicals (Boston Globe, April 1).