Brief Exposure to Pope Francis Heightens Moral Beliefs About Climate Change

• In Event: COP21 and Pope Francis' Encyclical

Abstract

In his recent encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis argued that acting to address climate change is a moral imperative. However, research suggests a complex relationship between religious concepts and environmental attitudes, raising the question of what influence the pope’s views may have on public opinion regarding this polarizing issue. In a probability survey experiment of U.S. adults (n=1,212), we find that brief exposure to Pope Francis influenced the climate-related beliefs of broad segments of the U.S. public: it increased perceptions of climate change as a moral issue (among Republicans in particular) and increased felt personal responsibility for contributing to climate change and its mitigation (among Democrats). Moreover, those who indicated greater awareness of the pope’s position showed stronger treatment effects, consistent with a priming account of these effects. Results complement recent correlational findings and offer further evidence of the Vatican’s influence on climate change public opinion.

Authors

• Jonathon P. Schuldt, Cornell U

• Adam R. Pearson, Pomona College

• Rainer Romero-Canyas, Environmental Defense Fund

• Dylan Larson-Konar, Environmental Defense Fund