Climate Change in the American Christian Mind

The report analyzes how different denominations of American Christians perceive climate change, finding that Catholics are generally the most concerned and supportive of climate policies, while evangelicals are the most split on the reality of global warming and more likely to prioritize religious beliefs over scientific explanations. It also assesses the trust placed in religious leaders, specifically Pope Francis, and the support for specific climate mitigation policies.

• Belief in the reality of global warming varies by denomination: 69% of Catholics and 62% of non-evangelical Protestants believe it is happening, while evangelicals are split, with 51% believing it is happening and 27% believing it is not.
• Catholics are the most likely to attribute global warming to human activity (57%), followed by non-evangelical Protestants (50%), while evangelicals are more evenly split between human (41%) and natural (37%) causes.
• There is a significant gap between scientific consensus and the perceptions of American Christians; fewer than half of Catholics (40%), non-evangelical Protestants (39%), and evangelicals (29%) believe most scientists think human-caused global warming is happening.
• Concern levels differ by group, with 57% of Catholics reporting they are at least somewhat worried about global warming, compared to 48% of non-evangelical Protestants and 38% of evangelicals (as 62% of evangelicals are "not very" or "not at all" worried).
• Most American Christians view global warming as a major environmental and scientific issue, but very few see it as a major religious (5-9%) or spiritual (6-9%) issue.
• Evangelicals are more likely than other Christian groups to prioritize religious beliefs over science when the two conflict (55%), compared to Catholics (18%) and non-evangelical Protestants (18%).
• There is broad support among American Christians for several climate policies, including funding for weather-resistant infrastructure (80-83%), tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (74-83%), and renewable energy research (73-81%).
• A majority of American Christians support setting strict carbon dioxide emission limits on existing coal-fired power plants, even if it increases electricity costs: 74% of Catholics, 70% of non-evangelical Protestants, and 60% of evangelicals.
• Pope Francis is the most trusted religious leader as a source of information on global warming among the groups surveyed, though awareness of his forthcoming encyclical on the topic was very low (5-11%).
• American Christians generally perceive global warming as a distant threat; majorities believe people in the U.S. will not be harmed for at least 25 years, if ever (59-65%).

APA

Center for Climate Change Communication (2015). Climate Change in the American Christian Mind. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2015-Climate-Change-in-the-American-Christian-Mind-March-2015.pdf

Chicago

Center for Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Christian Mind. 2015. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2015-Climate-Change-in-the-American-Christian-Mind-March-2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the American Christian Mind |date=March 2015 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2015-Climate-Change-in-the-American-Christian-Mind-March-2015.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimatechangecommunication2015climate, author = {{Center for Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Christian Mind}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2015-Climate-Change-in-the-American-Christian-Mind-March-2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }