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American evangelicals and domestic versus international climate policy

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  • Stephen Chaudoin
  • David Smith
  • Johannes Urpelainen

Abstract

Because a significant portion of the American electorate identify themselves as evangelical Christians, the evangelical position on climate policy is important to determining the role the United States could play in global climate cooperation. Do evangelicals oppose all climate policies, or are they particularly opposed to certain types of policies? We argue that American evangelicals oppose climate policy due to their distrust of international cooperation and institutions, which has been a prominent feature of evangelical politics since the beginning of the Cold War. Using data from the 2011 Faith and Global Policy Challenges survey and the 2010 Chicago Council Global View survey, we find support for the theory. Evangelicals are equally likely to support domestic climate policy as other Americans, but they are significantly less likely to support international treaties on climate cooperation. The findings suggest that proponents of climate policy could win more evangelicals to their side by focusing on domestic action, instead of multilateral negotiations or international institutions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Chaudoin & David Smith & Johannes Urpelainen, 2014. "American evangelicals and domestic versus international climate policy," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 441-469, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:revint:v:9:y:2014:i:4:p:441-469
    DOI: 10.1007/s11558-013-9178-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chelsea Fisher, 2018. "Towards a dialogue of sustainable agriculture and end-times theology in the United States: insights from the historical ecology of nineteenth century millennial communes," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(4), pages 791-807, December.
    2. Sharma, Swati & Ang, James B. & Fredriksson, Per G., 2021. "Religiosity and climate change policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    3. Benjamin S. Lowe & Susan K. Jacobson & Glenn D. Israel & Anna L. Peterson, 2023. "Association of Religious End Time Beliefs with Attitudes toward Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Robin G. Veldman & Dara M. Wald & Sarah B. Mills & David A. M. Peterson, 2021. "Who are American evangelical Protestants and why do they matter for US climate policy?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(2), March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International cooperation; Religion; Climate change; Climate policy; Evangelicalism; Public opinion; Q54; Q12;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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