Sacred choices: how religion shapes economic and environmental preferences in 64 countries

Understanding how religious beliefs influence environmental concern is crucial in a world facing ecological challenges. While existing research often focuses on socio-economic determinants, fewer studies investigate how religion informs environmental priorities. This study explores how religious affiliation and practice shape individuals’ willingness to prioritize environmental protection across Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, using World Values Survey data (2017–2022). We analyzed data from 64 countries with probit and instrumental variables (IV) probit regression. Religiosity is assessed by self-reported affiliation and frequency of religious service attendance. Average religiosity among similar respondents in countries where the same faith dominates serves as the instrument. Probit model estimates show that being religious positively correlates with prioritizing environmental protection (β = 0.038; p < 0.01), whereas more frequent attendance slightly reduces this likelihood (β = −0.021; p < 0.001). The multilevel probit model was estimated to account for clustering and showed similar results. IV probit estimates confirm religiosity’s overall positive impact (β = 0.169; p < 0.01), especially among Christians (β = 0.329; p < 0.001) and Muslims (β = 0.388; p < 0.001). These results highlight the role of religious identity in shaping environmental concern, although the intensity of practice may moderate its effect.