New study reaffirms the link between conservative religious faith and climate change doubt

[progressoid]

Because let’s face it — we already knew that conservative religiosity in the United States was closely tied to denying evolution. What wasn’t so obvious was why views of global warming, or the environment, would seem to so closely track views on where we humans (and the rest of all life on Earth) come from. Yet it seems they do:

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I’m writing on this again now because after posting about Rosenau’s work, I learned about a new academic study that seems highly consistent with his research, even as it also casts new light on the environmental side of things.

“I think looking at that graphic, it very much resonates with our own work,” explains David Konisky of Georgetown, co-author of the new paper.

The study, which Konisky authored with Matthew Arbuckle of the University of Cincinnati, draws on a vast dataset from the 2010 installment of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, which not only asks people about their religious views, affiliations, and habits, but also samples a huge group of Americans — some 55,000 of them.

That large number allows the researchers to conduct a fine-grained analysis of the divergences in views on environmental matters between members of different major religious traditions (Catholics, Protestants, Jews) and also members of different denominations (Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and so on) in the United States. That includes looking at how “religiosity,” a measure of how committed people are to their faiths and how much they’re involved in religious activities (like going to church), seems to influence those environmental views.

...http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/29/this-fascinating-chart-on-faith-and-climate-change-denial-has-been-reinforced-by-new-research/

Don't know if this has been posted here at DU.

The article is fine. Just don't read the comments. Ugh.

[mr blur]

1. Aaaagh! I didn't listen to you!

I read the comments.

[valerief]

2. What is "Friends?" I couldn't find it in the pdf at the the link.

It's not the TV show, is it?

[LostOne4Ever]

4. Im guessing they are referring to Quakers/Society of Friends (nt)

[valerief]

5. Ah, thanks. I didn't have a clue. nt

[drm604]

3. The author finds these results "not so obvious"?

It's not obvious that evangelicals, and especially biblical literalists, tend not to accept the science behind climate change?

How was it not obvious? Granted, it's nice to have some scientific confirmation, but the results are not the least bit surprising to anyone who pays attention.

[trotsky]

6. Because religion is "just another way of knowing" and science is "based on faith" too!

So they're equal, you see!