Six in 10 Americans, including a number of Christians, believe that climate change is actually impacting the weather, according to a new survey. But many, many others are of the opinion that severe weather is a sign that we’re smack in the middle of biblical end times. According to a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service:
— Nearly two-thirds (65%) of white evangelical Protestants believe that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence of what the Bible calls the end times, compared to roughly 1-in-5 Catholics (21%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (15%).
— Four-in-ten (40%) independents, 35% of Democrats, and one-third (33%) of Republicans agree that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in what the Bible calls the end times.
— By contrast, more than 6-in-10 (63%) Americans say the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence of global climate change, while one-third (33%) disagree.
— Nearly 7-in-10 (69%) religiously unaffiliated Americans, 6-in-10 (60%) Catholics, and half (50%) of white evangelical Protestants agree that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence of global climate change.
The survey also indicates that only 2 percent of Americans believe that the end of the world, as predicted by the ancient Mayans, will happen this month. Fifteen percent of Americans surveyed believe that the end of the world, as predicted by the Book of Revelation, will occur in their lifetime.
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