Title

Religious Affiliation and Environmental Challenges in the 21st Century

Abstract

"There is lack of studies of global variation in religious affiliation alongside environmental change worldwide. The aim of the current study is to help fill this gap by exploring variation in religious affiliation alongside environmental change worldwide. We study this relationship by analysing religious affiliation, a variety of environmental stressors and environmental outcomes."

Description

"As the impacts of climatic change increase, the share of the world population with a religious affiliation is expected to rise (from 84% in 2010 to 87% by 2050). Religion is important for climate change relevant behaviours, including fertility choices or whether one sees climatic change as due to human action or related to forces beyond human control. We conduct exploratory and descriptive statistical analyses to better understand the associations among religion, on the one hand, and economic development, greenhouse gas emissions, exposure to environmental stressors, and attitudes, beliefs and environmental performance, on the other. We show that countries with lower shares that are religious tend to have more emissions, to be better prepared for environmental challenges and have low or negative population growth. Countries with a greater proportion of religiously affiliated tend to have higher population growth, face more environmental risks and to be less prepared for those risks. Identifying groups that disproportionally cause or are exposed to environmental risks represents an issue of environmental justice. Understanding the religious composition of the world along with environmental changes can further help identify which environmental policies that could be more effective."

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Date Created

10/6/2020

Creator(s)

Vegard Skirbekk, Alex de Sherbinin, Susana B. Adamo, Jose Navarro, and Tricia Chai-Onn

Format

PDF

Article Type

Scholarly Article

Denomination

Interfaith

Audience

All audiences/General public

Environmental Organization

Journal of Religion and Demography

Issues

english Eco-Justice

english Human Health & Well-being

english Poverty

english Climate

Relation

How Religion Influences Our Relationship With the Environment