Polarized U.S. publics, Pope Francis, and climate change: Reviewing the studies and data collected around the 2015 Papal Encyclical

Abstract

As soon as it was clear that Pope Francis's 2015 Encyclical, Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home, would discuss, among other issues, the moral imperative to address global climate change, U.S. scholars and research institutions rushed to collect data surrounding its release. These groups aimed to determine whether there would be a "Francis Effect," in which U.S. Conservatives (and Conservative Catholics in particular) would show greater concern about the negative effects of global climate change. Here, we first provide context by discussing the history of political polarization in the U.S. over global climate change. Then, we review the published literature and publicly available data that aimed to examine potential influences of Laudato Si' on people's climate change attitudes. Taken together, the available scholarship provides strong evidence that U.S. publics were differentially responsive to the Pope's messaging (with political Conservatives expressing less climate change concern and viewing Pope Francis as less credible), but there is correlational evidence of an overall "Francis Effect." U.S. population data collected following the encyclical's release show small, potentially temporary, increases in perceptions of papal credibility, climate change concern, and the perspective that global climate change is a moral issue.

Effects of Pope Francis’ Religious Authority and Media Coverage on Twitter User’s Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination

“…Previous studies indicate a rather minor role of religious leaders in promoting the acceptance of vaccination [3]. Along with the fact that not all Catholics respect Pope Francis equally (Political Conservatives view Pope Francis as less credible) [68], it should not be surprising to find negative sentiment towards the pope's encouragement of vaccination.…”

“…Undoubtedly, Pope Francis is one of the authorities of the modern world. This is due to the office he holds, but also to his personality traits and his conscious effort to have the Catholic Church perceived as an important player in the international arena, and his voice on important issues (such as migration and migration policy or climate change) widely known and commented on [68,78]. Speaking on important topics, Francis is aware of the 'media' power of gestures and sentences [79].…”

The Potential of Religion for Promoting Sustainability: The Role of Stewardship

“…For example, respected religious leaders, such as popes, may help increase the effects of stewardship messages among religious individuals. Schuldt, Pearson, Romero‐Canyas, and Larson‐Konar (2017) showed that a brief exposure to Pope Francis increased perceptions of climate change as moral issues, especially when respondents were aware of his views on climate change (i.e., urging the global community to take climate action; see also Landrum & Vasquez, 2020). Employing religious leaders as messengers may help increase support for environmental action, especially among politically conservative religious people who may find environmental messages inconsistent with their political identities (Gromet, Kunreuther, & Larrick, 2013; Landrum, Lull, Akin, Hasell, & Jamieson, 2017).…”

Environmental communication research

“…In recent times, Pope Francis' Laudato Si (2015) was the most influential work for 'caring for our common home' which was issued a few months before the commencement of the Paris Climate Summit. The encyclical, addressing the global audience, framed the climate crises from a moral position, linking the climate crises and global economic inequality (Landrum & Vasquez, 2020). The encyclical aimed at the environmental discourse across politicians, economic organizations, religious leaders, intellectuals, academicians and the common public.…”

“…To achieve sustainable behavior and sustainable development, what is required is not just scientific knowledge about climate change but a change in ethical and moral perspectives, attitudes and a shift in political ideology that would promote welfare economics (Landrum & Vasquez, 2020). For many people, as scientific facts could be ideologically inconvenient, the truth is brushed away on political and economic interests and the needed action is opposed (Mann, 2021).…”