Nearly three-quarters of highly religious Americans say they must care for the planet, but a much lower number says climate change is a “very serious problem,” according to a new Pew Research Center study that notes political affiliation as a key factor in the issue.
“The main driver of U.S. public opinion about the climate is political party, not religion,” says the Pew study, titled “How Religion Intersects With Americans’ Views on the Environment.”
The study, released Thursday, notes that “highly religious Americans are more inclined” toward the Republican Party, whose members “tend to be much less likely than Democrats” to accept the notion that human activity is warming the planet or “to consider climate change a serious problem.