End-Times Theology, the Shadow of the Future, and Public Resistance to Addressing Global Climate Change

Abstract

The authors examine U.S. public attitudes regarding global climate change, addressing the puzzle of why support for governmental action on this front is tepid relative to what existing theories predict. Introducing the theoretical concept of relative sociotropic time horizons, the authors show that believers in Christian end-times theology are less likely to support policies designed to curb global warming than are other Americans. They then provide robustness checks by analyzing other policy attitudes. In so doing, the authors provide empirical evidence to suggest that citizens possessing shorter “shadows of the future” often resist policies trading short-term costs for hypothetical long-term benefits.

What explains public support for climate policies? A review of empirical and experimental studies

“…One exception is a recent paper by Smith and Leiserowitz (2013a), who find that American evangelicals are less likely to support climate policies than non-evangelicals. Another paper finds that US adherents of 'Christian end-times theology' express lower support for government action in general (Barker & Bearce, 2013).…”

Religious Representation and Animal Welfare in the U.S. Senate

“…Across all groups, however, a premillenial conception of the end times is negatively associated with environmentalism. Kilburn () and Barker and Bearce () find that the influence of religious affiliation on environmental attitudes disappears when controlling for a belief in biblical literalism, and Eckberg and Blocker () find that biblical literalism is negatively associated with environmentalism. Thus, separate from religious belonging, religious beliefs also affect environmental attitudes.…”

Conscientious Women: The Dispositional Conditions of Institutional Treatment on Civic Involvement

“…The first is belief that Jesus will return to earth one day soon, which several scholars have linked to opposition to action to alleviate environmental degradation (Barker and Bearce, 2013;Guth et al 1995). The "shadow of the future" should undermine motivation to participate in civic life as well.…”