Green and God-fearing may go hand-in-hand. A recent survey found that the majority of Americans who believe in God also believe in protecting the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preventing nuclear war.
The University of Maryland's Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and its Program on International Policy Attitudes polled 1,496 Americans, including a large number of Catholics and Evangelicals.
"This research challenges common political stereotypes that pigeonhole religious Americans as liberal or conservative on environmental and nuclear proliferation issues," said study co-author John Steinbruner, University of Maryland professor and CISSM director, in a press release.
The study, Faith and Global Policy Challenges: How Spiritual Values Shape Views on Poverty, Nuclear Risks, and Environmental Degradation,found that:
3 out of 4 believers feel that they have an obligation to act as good stewards to the environment; 4 out of 10 believe that includes an obligation to prevent nuclear war.2 out of 3 believers agree that there is an obligation to care for God's creation by supporting environmental laws and regulations.7 in 10 reject the idea that reducing greenhouse gas emissions would hurt the economy.8 out of 10 support negotiating international agreements to limit the number of nuclear weapons on high alert. 4 in 10 think there is a consensus among scientists that urgent action on climate change is needed. That number drops to 3 in 10 for Evangelicals."These findings demonstrate the public's strong moral impulse to address global policy challenges - an impulse that if applied properly could break the current impasse on these issues," Steinbruner said.
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To determine whether people were believers or not, the researchers first asked if respondents believed in God or not.
The scientists then clarified the terms they were using by asking if respondents felt "there are spiritual obligations to act in certain ways," or whether they did "not think in these terms." Sixty-seven percent felt there are spiritual obligations, while 32 percent did not.
"While for many believers there is a tenuous connection between their spiritual values and issues related to the environment and the risk of nuclear war, they are nonetheless very responsive to the idea that there is an obligation to protect God's creation, or to be good stewards of the earth," said Steven Kull, study co-author and director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes, in a press release.
For Christians, the injunction to be stewards of the Earth is often based on several readings in their Bible, including:
“Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground,'” Genesis 1:26, New International Version of the Christian Bible.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it,” Genesis 2:15, New International Version of the Christian Bible.
IMAGE:
Peaceable Kingdom, Edward Hicks, c.1834 (National Gallery of Art, Wikimedia Commons)
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