Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment, “Laudato si’,” did not raise broad public concern about climate change among Catholics and non-Catholics, according to a new study from researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
The study “Cross-pressuring conservative Catholics? Effects of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the U.S. public opinion on climate change” found that awareness of the Pope’s encyclical was not associated with an increase in public concern over climate change. Researchers found that people who were more aware of the encyclical appeared to be more politically polarized in their view of climate change than people who weren’t aware of it. …
“While Pope Francis’ environmental call may have increased some individuals’ concerns about climate change, it backfired with conservative Catholics and non-Catholics, who not only resisted the message but defended their pre-existing beliefs by devaluing the pope’s credibility on climate change,” says lead author Nan Li, a former APPC postdoctoral fellow who is now an assistant professor at Texas Tech University. CONT.
Annenberg Public Policy Center