The Role of Religion in Environmental Attitudes
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Objective This article examines the role of religion in public attitudes about the environment. While some have found that various aspects of theology and religious practices are responsible for lower levels of concern about the environment, the overall evidence is inconclusive, largely because the typical sample size is insufficient to gain insight into differences between religious traditions. Methods We use ordered logistic regression to analyze data from the 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, a large survey that allows us to unpack the relationships among religious affiliation, religiosity, and environmental attitudes. Results Our results show that members of Judeo‐Christian traditions are less concerned about environmental protection than their nonreligious peers, and that religiosity somewhat intensifies these relationships for evangelical Protestants, Catholics, and mainline Protestants. Conclusion While the results generally support traditional arguments that religion depresses concern about the environment, they also reveal considerable variation across and within religious traditions.
Source: Social Science Quarterly
DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12213
Authors: Matthew B. Arbuckle, David M. Konisky
Institutions: University of Cincinnati, Indiana University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2126188530