Seth Udinski, FISM News

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Yesterday, the Pew Research Center released a study revealing that Americans with strong religious affiliations are far less worried about climate change and environmental issues than those with with weak or no religious affiliation.

The survey found that many religiously-affiliated Americans are swayed from concern about environmental issues, in part, because of the political affiliations with these opinions.

The researchers said,

The survey reveals several reasons why religious Americans tend to be less concerned about climate change. First and foremost is politics: The main driver of U.S. public opinion about the climate is political party, not religion. Highly religious Americans are more inclined than others to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and Republicans tend to be much less likely than Democrats to believe that human activity (such as burning fossil fuels) is warming the Earth or to consider climate change a serious problem.

The poll revealed that 42% of “highly religious” Americans believe climate change is a serious problem, compared to 72% of those who are non-religious.

On the question of the morality of driving a low-gas-mileage car, 88% of religious Americans said it is not a moral issue of concern. That number dipped to 81% for nonreligious Americans.

For the statement “The earth is getting warmer due to human activity,” only 39% of highly religious people agreed, compared to 70% of those who are non-religious.

Pollsters found it fascinating that among the highly religious respondents who showed lower concern for the environment, the majority (92%) answered that they believe God gave humans the duty to protect and care for the earth, compared to only 24% of those who are nonreligious.