Climate Change in the American Christian Mind

The report analyzes how three major groups of American Christians perceive climate change and its solutions. It finds that while beliefs about whether global warming is occurring vary by denomination—with Catholics showing the highest agreement and evangelicals being the most split—there is broad cross-denominational support for renewable energy policies and a shared moral value regarding the stewardship of nature.

• Belief that global warming is occurring varies across American Christian denominations: 69% of Catholics, 62% of non-evangelical Protestants, and 51% of evangelicals believe it is happening.
• Majorities of Catholics, non-evangelical Protestants, and evangelicals support specific climate policies, including tax rebates for energy efficient vehicles or solar panels (83%, 80%, and 74% respectively), increased research funding for renewable energy (81%, 81%, and 73% respectively), and a 20% renewable energy mandate for electric utilities (67%, 68%, and 60% respectively).
• American Christians generally prioritize the stewardship of nature over the dominion of nature for human use, and express high personal importance for caring for future generations, the natural environment, and the world's poor.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2015). Climate Change in the American Christian Mind. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-christian-mind/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Christian Mind. 2015. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-christian-mind/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the American Christian Mind |date=1 April 2015 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-christian-mind/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2015climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Christian Mind}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2015}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-christian-mind/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }