Protestant pastors are more skeptical about global warming today than they were two years ago. That is the finding of a LifeWay Research survey of 1,000 randomly selected Protestant pastors conducted in October 2010. The survey also found that pastors’ views on the subject vary widely by denomination, education, location and political ideology.
When asked to respond to the statement, “I believe global warming is real and manmade,” 41 percent of pastors strongly disagree, up from 27 percent in a similar survey conducted in 2008. That marks an increase of more than 50 percent. According to the 2010 survey, 19 percent of pastors somewhat disagree with the statement, 13 percent somewhat agree and 23 percent strongly agree. Twenty-five percent strongly agreed in 2008 that global warming is real and manmade.
According to the Pew Research Center, this trend among pastors parallels a trend among Americans in general. Between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of Americans who said there is no solid evidence that the earth is warming increased from 21 percent to 32 percent. In addition, in 2010, 34 percent said the earth is warming because of human activity, down from 47 percent in 2008.
“Pastors’ sentiments on global warming have shifted right in step with Americans in general,” noted Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research. “The number of pastors who are firmly convinced global warming is manmade has not changed much, but many who were beginning to agree during the 2008 election cycle now strongly disagree.”
Half of Protestant pastors (52 percent) address the issue of the environment to their churches once a year or less—virtually unchanged compared to 2008 (50 percent). Pastors with a master’s degree or higher speak on the environment more often than those with a bachelor’s degree or less. Fully 60 percent of those with graduate degrees speak on the environment at least once a year. That includes 30 percent who speak on it several times a year, 14 percent who speak about once a year, 9 percent who speak about once a month and 7 percent who speak several times a month about the environment.
