2025/08/19 by Jason M. Pudlo · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration #Disaster Management and Resilience #Religion, Ecology, and Ethics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s1755048325000082
openalex publication_date 2025/08/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Houses of worship are often shelters after the storm. Yet, as climate change fuels natural disasters and communities increasingly rely on congregations during disaster recovery, are houses of worship ready to be houses of refuge? Examining clergy influence, does a higher concern about climate change by clergy result in improved congregational disaster readiness? Data for the study come from a 2019 nationwide survey of clergy. The survey includes measures of congregational disaster preparedness along with one of the first applications of the SASSY climate concern measure to clergy. Results show that clergy have mixed opinions about climate change and that congregations led by high climate-concern clergy are no more prepared for disasters than those led by unconcerned clergy. While seemingly a null result, understanding the relationship between leaders, climate change, and disaster preparedness benefits the study of leader influence on organizations, religion and climate change, and the politics of disaster resilience.