When Excessive Faith Becomes Dangerous

Who would have thought that belief in an invisible, all-powerful being would lead to real world risks? According to a study released Wednesday,  May 1, those widely held views might have more widespread effects.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, my alma mater, and the University of Colorado found that belief in Armageddon correlates with denial of climate change.

From The Raw Story:

The study, based on data from the 2007 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, uncovered that belief in the “Second Coming” of Jesus reduced the probability of strongly supporting government action on climate change by 12 percent when controlling for a number of demographic and cultural factors. When the effects of party affiliation, political ideology, and media distrust were removed from the analysis, the belief in the “Second Coming” increased this effect by almost 20 percent.

 I can understand why people would be concerned about greater environmental regulation*, as I too was skeptical for a long time with regard to Anthropogenic Global Warming. But there is simply too much evidence now, and to deny it is to deny reality.

And since reality denial and religious belief go hand in stigmata'd hand, one can see why this correlation may have a common cause.

*EDIT: I only mention government regulation as a reason to be skeptical, not as a solution to the problem. The science with regard to that question is currently unclear...