Faith, Morality and the Environment: Portraits of Global Warming's Six Americas

The report analyzes 'Global Warming's Six Americas'—the Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive—to determine if moral appeals from religious leaders could engage those currently unconcerned about climate change. It finds that while most Americans value caring for the poor and the environment, few outside the Alarmed and Concerned segments currently view global warming as a moral issue or understand its link to poverty. However, a widespread belief in human stewardship of nature and a general preference for religious over scientific explanations among less-engaged groups suggest that moral framing may be an effective communication strategy.

• The American public is divided into six segments based on their views of global warming: the Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive. These groups range from those firmly convinced the threat is real and human-caused to those who believe it is a scientific hoax.
• Religiosity and spirituality are common across all segments, though the Alarmed are the least likely to describe themselves as religious (36%) and the Dismissive are the most likely (68% very or moderately religious).
• There is a significant gap in how different segments perceive the moral dimension of climate change. In spring 2015, majorities of the Alarmed (82%) and Concerned (58%) viewed it as a moral issue, while less than a quarter of the Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive did so.
• Most Americans do not currently link their core moral values to their views on global warming. Forty percent of the total population say their feelings reflect their core moral values only "slightly" or "not at all."
• While most Americans across all segments believe caring for the poor, the environment, and future generations is important, understanding that reducing global warming helps these groups is uneven. Only the Alarmed have a majority (75%) who understand the link between global warming and poverty.
• A widespread belief in environmental stewardship exists across most segments. Except for the Dismissive, members believe it is a human responsibility to protect the Earth rather than simply using it for benefit.
• When scientific explanations conflict with religious or spiritual beliefs, the majority of Americans—specifically those in the Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive segments—are inclined to accept the religious explanation. Only the Alarmed prefer the scientific explanation.
• The segments differ sharply in their social values: the Alarmed hold strong egalitarian values (e.g., wealth distribution and protection of the poor), whereas the Doubtful and Dismissive are much more individualistic, favoring freedom from government intervention.
• The 'Concerned' segment (29% of the population) is identified as having the highest potential for increased engagement through moral framing, as they already recognize the reality of the threat but do not strongly link it to their core moral values.

APA

Roser-Renouf, C., Maibach, E., Leiserowitz, A., Feinberg, G., & Rosenthal, S. (2016). Faith, Morality and the Environment: Portraits of Global Warming's Six Americas. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2016-Faith_Morality_Six_Americas.pdf

Chicago

Roser-Renouf, Connie, Edward Maibach, Anthony Leiserowitz, Geoff Feinberg, and Seth Rosenthal. Faith, Morality and the Environment: Portraits of Global Warming's Six Americas. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2016. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2016-Faith_Morality_Six_Americas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Roser-Renouf |first1=Connie |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Leiserowitz |first3=Anthony |last4=Feinberg |first4=Geoff |last5=Rosenthal |first5=Seth |title=Faith, Morality and the Environment: Portraits of Global Warming's Six Americas |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=2016 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2016-Faith_Morality_Six_Americas.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{roserrenouf2016faith, author = {Roser-Renouf, Connie and Maibach, Edward and Leiserowitz, Anthony and Feinberg, Geoff and Rosenthal, Seth}, title = {{Faith, Morality and the Environment: Portraits of Global Warming's Six Americas}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2016}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2016-Faith_Morality_Six_Americas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }