Environmental Concern in the Mormon Culture Region

Abstract

ABSTRACT Perspectives on an array of social issues, including the environment, are strongly rooted within culture. Religion is an important carrier of culture, and several research projects have examined the influence of membership in some denominations on environmental attitudes. Research on connections between the Mormon religion and environmental attitudes have relied on national samples and do not control for the influence of regional but nonreligious culture. This research empirically examines connections between environmental attitudes and self-identification with the Mormon religion to further understand the religious culture's influences on environmental concern. To isolate the influences of the Mormon religion alone, survey data were collected from 639 residents of 4 communities located within the Mormon culture region. Findings indicate that there are statistically significant differences between the Mormon and non-Mormon populations' environmental concern, and clarify that the Mormon faith and its embedded cultural components are meaningful predictors of environmental concern within the region. Explanations for the relationships and their implications are discussed.