From Catholics to Evangelicals, a surprising 90 percent of U.S. Christian leaders believe in man-made climate change, yet remain largely silent, a new report by Boston College researchers reveals. The findings may help shape how Christians address climate change, knowing their beliefs about the climate crisis align with their church’s values. Pictured: “Christ between the Apostles John and Paul (Christ Preaching)” Stained glass by John La Farge. (Credit: Boston College)
A new study from Boston College reveals that an overwhelming 90% of Christian leaders in the United States, spanning denominations from Catholics to Evangelicals, believe in human-caused climate change. Despite this widespread agreement among church leadership, most pastors and religious figures rarely share these views with their congregations.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research highlights a communication gap that could be critical in mobilizing faith-based climate action. According to senior author Gregg Sparkman, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Boston College, the findings suggest that many Christian leaders’ environmental beliefs are aligned with their religious values, but often remain unspoken in public worship or community discussions.
The study points to a significant opportunity for religious communities to play a larger role in addressing the climate crisis, by bridging the gap between personal belief and public messaging within churches and faith-based organizations.
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Despite some prominent Evangelical figures denying climate change facts, a survey of 1,600 U.S. religious leaders revealed that nearly 90% of Christian leaders acknowledge anthropogenic climate change to some extent. Specifically, 60% believe humans play a major role, while an additional 30% attribute a more minor role to human activity, according to the report.
Yet roughly half the religious leaders have never discussed it with their congregation, and only a quarter have mentioned it more than once or twice, the survey found.
“Because of leadership’s silence on the matter, rank-and-file Christians think most of their leaders do not believe, and feel hesitant to even discuss climate change with their fellow churchgoers,” said Sparkman, who completed the study with Stylianos Syropoulos, a postdoctoral researcher at BC and now an assistant professor at Arizona State University.
“But, if you inform Christians that there’s actually a strong consensus among their religious leaders on the issue, they infer belief in climate change is more common in their church generally, feel taking climate action is consistent with their church’s values, and feel voting for a political candidate who fails to take climate action is inconsistent with their church’s values,” added Sparkman, who directs the Social Influence and Social Change Lab at Boston College.
A second of nearly 1,000 American Christians across major denominations, respondents significantly underestimated how many religious leaders believe in human-caused climate change. On average, participants guessed that about half of their leaders were skeptical of climate science—when in reality, only about 10% deny human influence on climate change.
Researchers also found that having a religious leader who speaks openly about climate change strongly correlates with greater willingness among congregants to discuss environmental issues in church, and to participate in climate-related events.
In a follow-up experiment, another group of nearly 1,000 Christians—half of whom were informed that 90% of Christian leaders accept man-made climate change—showed significant shifts in perception. This awareness reduced misbeliefs about clergy views, increased the perception that fellow churchgoers care about climate issues, and led to a stronger belief that climate action aligns with Christian values. It also prompted more skepticism toward politicians who oppose environmental policies, highlighting the influence of accurate information on faith-based climate engagement.
Christianity is the prevalent religion in the United States, observed by 224 million people, or 67 percent of the population, according to a Gallup survey from 2023. The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians, reported the researchers.
