Poll: Evangelicals Least Worried About Global Warming Than Other Religious Groups

Peter Smith, the religion writer for the Courier-Journal, has this not-very-surprising piece on recent polling done of the various religious groups in the United States as far as their attitudes towards the environment. It showed that evangelical Christians are the group least likely to believe that global warming is a "major problem" (they also don't recycle very well, compared to other groups).

So much for the whole notion of protecting and caring for God's creation -- our planet.

Evangelical Christians are the least worried about global warming than other religious groups surveyed, and agnostics and atheists are the most worried.

And evangelicals are least likely to recycle.

That's according to a new report by The Barna Group, which surveys trends among evangelicals -- which it defines as a more doctrinally conservative band among those who define themselves as born-again Christians.

Only 33 percent thought global warming was a major problem, compared with 69 percent in the latter category. Other Christian and non-Christian groups were also more concerned about global warming.

[..]

Here are comments from David Kinnaman, the president of The Barna Group:

"The survey confirms that Americans disagree about climate change. Each faith audience interacts with the concept of global warming in distinct ways. Evangelicals would rather think about other things. Non-evangelicals say the environment is important to them, yet they are far from convinced that global warming is as important as everyone says. By contrast, many non-Christians view global climate alterations as the central element of their environmental engagement."

Here's the breakdown:

By the way, for the first time in mankind's recorded history, the rapid melting of Arctic ice is almost at the point that a shipping channel through the Northwest Passage is soon to be a reality.

But that's just a normal fluctuation, isn't it? I mean, that's what the wing-nuts continue to tell us.

Comments

[Big Sandy Political Junkie]

What is the difference between an "evangelical Christian" and a "non-evangelical born-again Christian"?

[mark nickolas]

According to the group's methodology:

"Born again Christians" are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as "born again."

"Evangelicals" meet the born again criteria (described above) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as "evangelical."

"Notional Christians" are individuals who identify as Christian but who do not embrace the perspectives of a born again Christian.

[jaytn]

Always look for the silver lining.

This group represents only 8% of the US adult population according to this poll.

A lot of grew up with the ad-song, Look for the Union Label. It came out in 1975 or so when I was 14. It was taken from an older song written in the 1920s, Look For The Silver Lining.

*****

Look for the silver lining
When e'er a cloud appears in the blue.
Remember some where the sun is shining,
And so the right thing to do,
Is make it shine for you.

A heart, full of joy and gladness,
Will always banish sadness and strife.
So always look for the silver lining,
And try to find the sunny side of life.

JN

[gregariousred]

Maybe the evangelicals don't worry about the earth because they know they won't be here much longer. It's only us "left-behinders" that have to worry about our children, and our children's children. Or maybe it's because environmentalism is seen to be a "liberal" cause. These are just guesses, as I'm in the freaking worried atheist/agnostic population myself.

[Cyberhillbilly.blogspot.com]

Maybe they've been reading Bjorn Lomborg's work... Cool It!

http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Skeptical-Environmentalists-Global-Warming/dp/0307266923

As Fareed Zakaria pointed out on Foreign Exchange: Lomborg [an environmentalist who believes global warming is a reality] organized a group of eight economists including four Nobel Laureates to prioritize the world’s problems. The group was called the Copenhagen Consensus and the conclusion basically was don’t waste valuable resources trying to prevent global warming; focus instead on things like: communicable diseases, malnutrition and hunger, subsidies and trade barriers, sanitation and access to clean water, governance and corruption, population and migration, access to education, conflicts, financial instability, climate change.

[Jeeper]

Ernie walks on water.
The voters yawn.

[CSI]

Mark,
I figured I was the only one on this board who read the article about the new northwest passage. It was first predicted to occur around 2070, now the new estimate is 2030.

This will not raise the height of the ocean but it could spell the end of the Panama Canal.

I'm doing my part and hope everyone else is!!

[kilowat]

have you ever noticed if it's anything scientific like stem cell, evolution are environment the Christian right is always against it

[Donkey Pundit]

If anyone seeks proof of just how nutty, fanatical and hypocritical the Religious Right is, here's what Cal Thomas wrote in a recent syndicated column that appeared in The Courier-Journal:

"Those who ignore facts and cling to outdated information, or outright falsehoods, can quickly embrace fanaticism.

So it is with 'global warming,' the secular religion of our day that even has a good number of adherents among people of faith. Having decided to focus less on the eternal and whether anyone dwells there, global warming fundamentalists are pushing planet worship on us in a manner that would make a jihadist proud."

Sounds like a phony justification to drive a gas-guzzler, drink from plastic bottles and fail to recycle.

I hope there is a hell beyond Earth so that people who abuse God's creation can roast, eternally, like pigs on a spit.

Regardless, it seems inevitable that our great grandchildren will suffer the consequences of the convenient ignorance, unbridled greed and shameless selfishness of nuts like Thomas.