Abstract

Using the acronym POETICAS, we explore eight major facets of humankind’s relationship with the natural environment. We make the case that, while they are not mutually exclusive, they are nonetheless analytically distinct. We explore the roles of: 1) Population & demography; 2) Organizations & institutions; 3) Ecology; 4) Technology; 5) Illness & health; 6) Culture; 7) Affluence & inequality; and 8) Scale & time. We examine each of these facets in turn, looking not only at their main effects, but also considering many of the interactions among these factors in a broader ecological context. Building on earlier models, we make a case that this broader and more robust model can offer a framework for civic discourse about the human-environment interface that is useable to a wide array of audiences, including students and researchers as well as policy makers, members of social movement organizations, and engaged citizens seeking an overarching framework that can help make sense of a variety of otherwise disparate findings.

Perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam is one of the indicating features of Islamic fundamentalism and, in some cases, is serving as a pull to join extremist groups. In this paper, using data from two waves of a cross‐national survey, we investigate what affects European Muslims’ opinions about Western governments. We find that residential segregation is associated with perceived hostility of Western governments to Islam. Further, we find that Muslims living in segregated neighbourhoods and enclaves have a higher probability of believing that Western governments are hostile to Islam. National origins of Muslim immigrants have a significant impact, with people from African countries measuring less perceived hostility than others. We also find that education is associated with perceived hostility of Western governments to Islam in a non‐linear way. People with the highest and lowest levels of education tend to be less likely to believe that Western governments are hostile to Islam, relative to people with mid‐level education. This non‐linear effect is best explained by education’s differential effects on perceptions of key world events. During the time between 2011 – before ISIS’s announcement of its Caliphate in Iraq and Syria – and 2013, subsequent to that announcement, we see a sharp decrease in perception of Western governments’ hostility to Islam, particularly among more educated European Muslims. We make the case that this decrease can be attributed, in some ways, to the emergence of ISIS. We discuss our findings in terms of theoretical and policy implications.

No abstract

This article studies the relationship between individuals’ religiosity, political ideology, and environmental concern, in a cross-national setting. Drawing data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey (1999–2009), the final sample of this study includes 44,391 respondents nested in 43 countries. By using a multi-level modeling technique, the study finds that religiosity is positively associated with respondents’ environmental concerns in terms of willingness to pay for the environment, agreement with increased taxes to prevent environmental pollution, and choosing environmental protection over economic interests. Political ideology, measured via individuals’ self-placement on a left-right continuum, does not have a meaningful relationship with environmental concern in a global setting. Nevertheless, there is an interaction effect between religiosity and political ideology. Increased religiosity, particularly among more conservative individuals, is associated with a higher probability of environmental concern. Comparatively, religiosity virtually does not affect liberals’ concern for the natural environment. The gap between liberals and conservatives regarding the natural environment is more pronounced at lower levels of religiosity; as religiosity increases, the gap starts to narrow. Results suggest that religion has the potential to elevate some of the political barriers on the way towards reaching a collective environmental consciousness.