Examining the impact of religion on environmentalism 1993-2010: Has the religious environmental movement made a difference?

Abstract

The view that emerged in the social science and religious literature is that Judeo-Christian tradition was in part responsible for the environmental crisis by fostering a "dominion mandate" or masteryover- nature orientation. Despite the growing significance of the environmental movement, most church bodies had not addressed the problem officially until the early 1990s. Several national and faith-based organizations evolved to catalyze interest and organize the movement. This paper examines whether those efforts resulted in a significant change in environmental attitudes, beliefs, or behavior among the religiously involved. Using data from the General Social Survey for 1993, 2000, and 2010, results indicate that the respondents' denominational identification, grouped in terms of its liberal, moderate, or fundamentalist orientation, was weakly but significantly associated with several indicators of environmentalism for all three study years. These associations remain relatively consistent throughout this period, suggesting little change overall in the relationship between religious identification and environmental concern.