Today marks the day of fast for Catholics in the U.S. as part of the “Lenten Fast for Climate Justice,” a global campaign launched by the Global Catholic Climate Movement in partnership with Fast for Climate Change, Green Anglican Carbon Fast and others to encourage Pope Francis and the 1.2 billion Catholics around the world to take meaningful action in addressing climate change.
During this Lenten season, Catholics from more than 50 countries have signed up to fast for one day during the 40 days of Lent and today is the U.S.’s designated day. The goal of the fast is to “raise awareness on climate change” and to challenge Catholics to confront what Pope Francis has called “a globalization of indifference,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.
But are that many U.S. Catholics concerned about climate change? There’s now data that says yes, according to a special analysis conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. Overall, the organization found that Catholics, who make up 24 percent of all American adults, “are more convinced that global warming is happening, are more worried, and are more supportive of policy action than other Christians.”
But are that many U.S. Catholics concerned about climate change? There’s now data that says yes, according to a special analysis conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. Overall, the organization found that Catholics, who make up 24 percent of all American adults, “are more convinced that global warming is happening, are more worried, and are more supportive of policy action than other Christians.”
“We find that a solid majority of Catholics think global warming is happening (70 percent),” said Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. “By contrast, 57 percent of non-Catholic Christians think global warming is happening. Moreover, among those who think global warming is happening, Catholics are more likely than other Christians to think it is mostly human caused (48 percent versus 35 percent, respectively).”