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Pope's climate message failed to sway Catholic conservatives: study
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/302570-report-popes-climate-change-message-falls-flat-with-catholicsPope Francis’s landmark statement on climate change and his call for more work on the issue failed to sway conservative American Catholics, according to a new study.
The report, from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, concluded that last summer’s climate change encyclical only hardened views held about climate change.
...
After Francis issued his encyclical in June 2015, those positions were simply more stark: Democratic Catholics aware of the encyclical were more concerned about climate change than Democratic Catholics unaware of it. Conservative Catholics who heard about the encyclical were less concerned about climate change than those who hadn’t.
“While Pope Francis’s 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,” Nan Li, a Texas Tech professor and the study’s lead author, said in a statement.
The report, from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, concluded that last summer’s climate change encyclical only hardened views held about climate change.
...
After Francis issued his encyclical in June 2015, those positions were simply more stark: Democratic Catholics aware of the encyclical were more concerned about climate change than Democratic Catholics unaware of it. Conservative Catholics who heard about the encyclical were less concerned about climate change than those who hadn’t.
“While Pope Francis’s 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,” Nan Li, a Texas Tech professor and the study’s lead author, said in a statement.
More than a few DUers (myself included) expressed doubt that this "encyclical" would do much of anything, yet we were admonished and insulted for suggesting so. Wish I would say I felt good about being right on this, but once again religious thinking wins and the planet loses.
I mean, how can anyone be shocked about this? Liberal Catholics dismiss the pope's words when he talks about homosexuality, abortion, and women's rights - why is anyone surprised when conservative Catholics feel free to do the same on the environment?
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Conservative Catholics who heard about the encyclical were less concerned about climate change than those who hadn’t.
If Obama says one thing, they have to say the opposite.
