How Do Religions and Religiosity Matter for Climate Anxiety?

During the last decade, the discussions about climate change have evolved beyond technical and technological debates, and politicians and religious leaders have started to acknowledge the complexity of the matter more frequently than ever. These discussions aptly underlined the inadequacy of the offered technical solutions to problems due to climate change, which are bound to social and psychological barriers and evaluated through the lenses of existing culture, values, and beliefs, which can hinder appropriate responses. The current study problematises this puzzle by exploring variations in ideological positions, religious affiliations, and religiosity levels and their interactions with climate anxiety. The findings indicate that differing religious affiliations and religiosity levels are robust predictors of variations in climate anxiety. Moreover, their interactions and ideological positions also effectively explain the variations in perceptions related to climate anxiety. These findings provide critical insights into how religious and ideological dimensions influence responses to climate issues, offering practical implications for policymakers.