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Cross-pressuring conservative Catholics? Effects of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the U.S. public opinion on climate change

Author

Listed:
  • Nan Li

    (Texas Tech University)

  • Joseph Hilgard

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Dietram A. Scheufele

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison & Morgridge Institute for Research)

  • Kenneth M. Winneg

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Kathleen Hall Jamieson

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

In an encyclical released in June of 2015, Pope Francis cast the need to address climate change as a moral imperative. Using nationally-representative surveys with supplemental samples of Catholics, we investigate changes in the U.S. public’s post-encyclical attitudes about climate change and the Catholic pontiff. People who were aware of the encyclical held more polarized attitudes toward climate change than those who were unaware of it. Whereas encyclical-aware liberals expressed heightened concerns about climate change, encyclical-aware conservatives expressed lower levels. Cross-pressured by the inconsistency between the pontiff’s views and those of their political allies, conservative Catholics devalued the Pope’s credibility on climate change. These findings have important implications for communication about climate change in polarized opinion environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Nan Li & Joseph Hilgard & Dietram A. Scheufele & Kenneth M. Winneg & Kathleen Hall Jamieson, 2016. "Cross-pressuring conservative Catholics? Effects of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the U.S. public opinion on climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 367-380, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:139:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-016-1821-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-016-1821-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dan M. Kahan & Hank Jenkins-Smith & Donald Braman, 2011. "Cultural cognition of scientific consensus," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 147-174, February.
    2. Ezra M. Markowitz & Azim F. Shariff, 2012. "Climate change and moral judgement," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(4), pages 243-247, April.
    3. Pelletier, Nathan, 2010. "Environmental sustainability as the first principle of distributive justice: Towards an ecological communitarian normative foundation for ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1887-1894, August.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jonathon P. Schuldt & Adam R. Pearson & Rainer Romero-Canyas & Dylan Larson-Konar, 2017. "Brief exposure to Pope Francis heightens moral beliefs about climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 167-177, March.
    3. Jens Koehrsen & Marian Burchardt, 2024. "Religion and Development: Alternative Visions, Credibility, and Networks as Religious Assets for Sustainable Development?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 24(2), pages 129-146, April.
    4. Asheley R. Landrum & Rosalynn Vasquez, 2020. "Polarized U.S. publics, Pope Francis, and climate change: Reviewing the studies and data collected around the 2015 Papal Encyclical," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(6), November.

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