God will take care of it: how belief in an intervening God decreases concern for climate change
Shin, Faith Donga
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/78530
Description
Title
God will take care of it: how belief in an intervening God decreases concern for climate change
Author(s)
Shin, Faith Donga
Issue Date
2015-04-28
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
environment
religion
Abstract
What is the relationship between religious belief and attitudes toward the environment? The present research discusses how one aspect of religion, belief in an intervening God (BIG), reduces concern for climate change. In Study 1, BIG was negatively correlated with belief in climate change and biocentric views of nature. In Study 2, participants who were presented with information about the existence of an intervening God reported decreased moralization of pro-environmental behaviors and decreased biocentric views of nature. Findings from Study 1 and 2 provide preliminary evidence that belief in divine intervention can have negative consequences on attitudes towards climate change. Study 3 examined whether individuals are motivated to use BIG as a compensatory resource to cope with the threat of climate change. If so, exposure to dire climate change messages should increase self-reported BIG. However, Study 3 does not find evidence for this hypothesis. The implications of the results are discussed, including the importance of viewing climate change as a moral issue to promote action.
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