{"id":198664,"date":"2025-02-26T06:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=198664"},"modified":"2025-10-28T14:49:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:49:26","slug":"religion-and-views-on-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-on-the-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"19. Religion and views on the environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most U.S. adults believe that God gave humans a duty to protect and care for the Earth (66%), and 57% believe that God gave humans the right to use the Earth for humanity\u2019s benefit, according to the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Highly religious Americans are the most likely to say that God gave humans a duty to protect and care for the Earth (94%) and that God gave people the right to use the Earth for humanity\u2019s benefit (89%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few Americans with low levels of religious engagement believe that God gave humans a duty to protect the Earth or the right to use it for humanity\u2019s benefit (largely because many people in these groups do not believe in God).[73. numoffset=”73″ We measured religiousness using a scale based on four questions: prayer frequency, belief in God and\/or a universal spirit, religion\u2019s importance and religious service attendance. Each question was coded from 0 (low) to 2 (high). Prayer frequency is coded as 0 for those who seldom or never pray, 2 for those who pray daily, and 1 for everyone else. Belief in God and\/or a universal spirit is coded as 0 for those who do not believe in God or a universal spirit, 2 for those who believe with absolute certainty, and 1 for everyone else. Religion\u2019s importance is coded as 0 for those who say religion is \u201cnot too important\u201d or \u201cnot at all important\u201d in their lives, 2 for those who say religion is \u201cvery important\u201d in their lives, and 1 for everyone else. Religious attendance is coded as 0 for those who say they seldom or never attend religious services, 2 for those who attend religious services at least once a month, and 1 for everyone else. These indicators were added together to form a scale ranging from 0 to 8, and then subdivided roughly into quartiles (scores of 0 to 1 in the lowest quartile, scores of 2 to 4 in the medium-low quartile, scores of 5 to 6 in the medium-high quartile, and scores of 7 to 8 in the highest quartile).]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea that \u201cGod gave humans a duty to protect and care for the Earth\u201d is sometimes associated with the theological concept of \u201cstewardship<\/a>.\u201d The notion that \u201cGod gave humans the right to use the Earth for humanity\u2019s benefit\u201d reflects more of a \u201cdominionist<\/a>\u201d perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slightly more than half of Americans (54%) agree with both<\/em> perspectives, saying that God has given humans a duty to care for the Earth and also a right to use it for humanity\u2019s benefit. Just 3% say that humans have a right to use the Earth but do not<\/em> have a duty to protect and care for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The survey also shows that Americans who are very religious are less<\/em> likely than those with low and medium-low levels of religious commitment to view stricter environmental regulations as worth the cost, and to say that the Earth is getting warmer mostly because of human activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The differences between highly religious Americans and those who are not religious on these questions reflect big partisan differences between these groups. Indeed, prior research<\/a> shows that the main driver of U.S. public opinion about the climate is political party, not religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Highly religious Americans tend to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and Republicans are less inclined than Democrats to support environmental regulations or to believe the Earth is warming because of human activity. People who are not religious tend to identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, and Democrats are more inclined than Republicans to support environmental regulations, and to believe the Earth is warming because of human activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read our previous study about religion and Americans\u2019 attitudes on environmental issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jump to sections on religious groups\u2019 views about:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n