Christianity and climate change: the relationship between God and green
In debates about climate change scepticism, much has been made of the influence of people's political beliefs. Especially in the US, but in other Anglophone countries too, climate change has become one of those flagship issues – like gun control, gay marriage and reproductive rights – that are reliable indicators of left and right.
However, in many western democracies, millions of people don't have strong political affiliations. In fact, many do not vote at all. And in the US in particular, there are other forces at play that affect people's belief systems.
Some 30% of the population of North America describe themselves as evangelical Christians, with a much larger number following or practising other forms of Christianity. This means that the relationship between humans and the natural environment, from a theological perspective, is likely to be a significant influence on how people think about climate change and sustainability.
In a paper currently in press at the journal Global Environmental Change, Nick Smith and Antony Leiserowitz conducted a survey of over 2,000 North Americans, including approximately 600 evangelical Christians. Their aim was to better understand how evangelicals think about climate change, by comparing their views to those of non-evangelical participants in the survey.
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/christianity-climate-change-sceptics-god-green
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