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

The report analyzes 'Global Warming's Six Americas'—segments ranging from the Alarmed to the Dismissive—to determine if moral framing by religious leaders can 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 view global warming as a moral issue or understand its link to poverty. However, a widespread preference for religious over scientific explanations suggests that moral authority could reach skeptical audiences.

• 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 perceiving global warming as a moral issue; only the Alarmed (82%) and Concerned (58%) have majorities who view it this way, while less than a quarter of the Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive do so.
• While most Americans 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 recognize the link between global warming and poverty.
• Except for the Alarmed, most Americans prefer religious or spiritual explanations over scientific ones when the two conflict. This is evidenced by high rates of biblical literalism and the rejection of evolution among the Doubtful (61%) and Dismissive (71%).
• The segments differ sharply in social values: the Alarmed hold strong egalitarian values (equal opportunity and wealth distribution), whereas the Doubtful and Dismissive are much more individualistic, favoring freedom from government intervention.
• Most Americans, including those unconcerned about climate change, believe humans have a stewardship responsibility to protect the Earth rather than a right of dominion to use it solely for human benefit.
• The 'Concerned' segment (29% of the population) is identified as having the highest potential for engagement through moral framing because they recognize the reality of the threat but do not yet 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. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/01/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. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 2016. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/01/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=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |date=2016 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/01/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 = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2016}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/01/Faith-Morality-Six-Americas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }