Feeling responsible for reducing climate change: a multi-level European study on the role of religion and state

Feelings of being responsible for reducing climate change can stimulate climate action. These feelings may depend on the broader cultural (e.g. religious) and social context (e.g. social and environmental welfare expenditure) in which one lives, as well as on individual beliefs and attitudes, such as religiosity, religion and welfare attitudes. This study analyses data from the European Social Survey Round 8 to gain a better understanding of how contextual and individual factors relate to feelings of responsibility toward climate change reduction across European countries. Our findings highlight the association of religions with feelings of responsibility, with Muslims and non-religious people feeling more responsible compared to Christians. Only non-religious people feel more responsible to reduce climate change when expenditures for environmental protection increase. Furthermore, the religious context and individual level of religiosity were found to not affect feelings of responsibility. More positive welfare attitudes were shown to result in greater feelings of responsibility to reduce climate change. The nature of state expenditure (social vs. environmental protection) were found to have an effect.