New research confirms that evangelical Christian beliefs are the strongest predictors of climate change denial.
New York University political scientist John Kane and University of Oklahoma sociologist Samuel Perry have published a new working paper finding that the belief claiming God “has a secret timeline involving Jesus’ return and the world’s decline and destruction” is the strongest religious predictor of reluctance to endorse policies to combat climate change. Such sentiment is exemplified by William Wolfe’s “A Biblical Worldview of Climate Change,” wherein he writes: “Christians are people who take God at His word. God has promised the Earth will never again be destroyed — so we should live and act like that’s true because it is.”
This nonsensical take on climate change doesn’t only exist among rank-and-file evangelical Christians. Most evangelicals who hold elected office recklessly refuse to accept demonstrable truths about climate change and thus fail to act on this crisis. Kane and Perry cite the views of U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., at a town hall: “As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”
John Shimkus, as a member of Congress, dismissed climate change concerns by echoing the ridiculous belief that “God said the Earth would not be destroyed by a flood.” Jon Barton, when also in the House of Representatives, cited the bible to rebuke scientific consensus that humans have contributed to climate change. “I would point out that if you are a believer in the bible, one would have to say the great flood was an example of climate change,” Barton once told a congressional hearing.
Simply put, these narrow and ignorant viewpoints have consequences. If the Heritage Foundation and its cronies get their wish, Project 2025 would slash EPA funding, undermining the government’s commitment through the Inflation Reduction Act to transition to clean energy, and delegating environmental regulations to the states.
Stepping outside of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s office in Madison, Wis., the past two weeks is enough to give anyone pause. It is abnormally hotter than it should be for this time of year.
While this is one mere data point of temperature, the aggregate data points to a disturbing trend. The summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years and heat-related deaths rose above 2,300. NASA finds the summer of 2024 the hottest summer to date, with August 2024 setting a new monthly temperature record. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the first eight months of 2024 ranked as the second-warmest year to date. The case for climate change is clear, whether evangelicals want to acknowledge it or not. Whether they “believe” in climate change or not, our planet is experiencing catastrophic extremes, as the current endless wildfires in California and the historically catastrophic flooding going on right now in central Europe bear witness to.
While evangelicals turn a blind eye to this crisis, the “Nones” are likely to agree that there is climate change, that it is human induced and that climate mitigation policy is necessary to combat it. A Pew Research poll showed that 90 percent of atheists — the highest percentage of any group by religion (or lack thereof) to do so — believe the data and acknowledge the reality of climate change.
“Atheists, agnostics, and others with no religion see the writing on the wall and we are the ones who should be leading the charge to implement policy solutions to combat this crisis,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “Project 2025 seeks to kill the Inflation Reduction Act, which is keeping our nation on its path to meet its global commitments and protect the future of our children and grandchildren.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with about 40,000 members across the country. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
