Evangelicals are more skeptical of evolution than of climate change
http://news.rice.edu/2016/12/13/evangelicals-are-more-skeptical-of-evolution-than-of-climate-change-2/Amy McCaig – December 13, 2016
[font size=4]Evangelicals are more skeptical of evolution than of climate change, according to new research from Rice University.[/font]
[font size=3]“Examining Links Between Religion, Evolution Views and Climate-Change Skepticism” appeared in a recent edition of the journal Environment and Behavior. The study examines the larger “anti-science” tendency that some see as related to membership in conservative religious groups such as evangelical Protestants.
Using national survey data, Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund examined the link between evolution skepticism and climate-change skepticism while considering religion’s association with both. The study included 9,636 people in the general U.S. population, which Ecklund said is up to 40 percent evangelical, dependent on how “evangelical” is defined.
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The research revealed that about 20 percent of the U.S. population is skeptical that climate change is occurring at all or that humans have a role in climate change, and about 45 percent of the U.S. population views natural evolution as probably or definitely false. However, the researchers found that there is a much stronger and clearer association between religion and evolution skepticism than between religion and climate-change skepticism. Almost 70 percent of surveyed respondents identifying as evangelicals said that evolution is probably or definitely false, while only 28 percent of these individuals said that the climate is not changing or that humans have no role in climate change.
“This is different from the popular account that the people who oppose climate-change research and the people who oppose the teaching of evolution are the same and that evangelical Protestantism is clearly linked to both,” Ecklund said.
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I know a number of “intelligent” people who are “skeptical” regarding “climate change.” I even know “intelligent” people who are “skeptical” regarding evolution.
(As has been suggested by others) evolution violates some of many “Evangelical’s” core beliefs. Their faith allows them to believe things which are unproven. (Or even things which seem contradicted by science.)
The climate “skeptics” similarly choose not to believe the evidence, because… well… because (to borrow a phrase) it is inconvenient for them to believe it.
Still, even among people who accept that “Climate Change” is not some colossal hoax, I would say that a minority believe because of scientific evidence. Instead, it is more of a political issue.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/10/04/the-politics-of-climate/
Even among “Liberal Democrats” only 55% believe that “Almost all climate scientists agree that human behavior is mostly responsible for climate change.”
Honestly, if you don’t know that virtually all climate scientists believe “climate change” is caused by humanity, you really can’t claim to know much of anything about climate science.
