Poll Finds Young Clergy Bucking Trend, Don't Believe in Global Warming as Their Peers Do

The results of a poll conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources, a Southern Baptist organization that specializes in Bibles, church literature, books, and music, finds that most pastors don’t believe in global warming.

            “I believe global warming is real and man-made,” was affirmed by 43 percent of pastors, a figure up from 36 percent in 2010 but lower than the 47 percent of respondents in 2008. The majority of pastors, 54 percent, disagreed with the statement. The number of those disagreeing with the statement was higher than in 2008 (48 percent). That figure was 60 percent in 2010.

            The demographics of the poll are unsurprising. GOP pastors denied global warming at a far greater rate than those identifying as Democrats (49 percent to five percent). Northeast pastors believe in global warming at a greater rate than their southern counterparts. Pastors in larger cities acknowledge global warming at a greater rate than pastors form small towns. Lutheran, Methodist, and other mainline Protestant ministers believe in global warming at a greater rate than Evangelical preachers.

            The survey results I found to be a bit surprising is that older pastors believe in global warming at a greater rate than younger pastors. The survey found that 32 percent of pastors 65 years and older believed in man-made global warming, while 20 percent of pastors 45-54 and 19 percent of the pastors between the ages of 18 and 44 believe in global warming.

            What is going on here? A Gallup poll on global warming from a year ago found that younger people are more worried about global warming than older folks. A PewResearch poll in 2009 found similar results. It seems that young pastors are bucking a generational trend.

            We can take part in a lot of armchair speculation here. The young persons going into the clergy, do they have a more conservative mindset than their peers? Is the training now being offered in seminaries and bible colleges shaping the worldview of their students as they train them in the spiritual guidance of their congregations? We can’t tell from the statistics of the poll, but this is a curious finding.