How religiosity and spirituality influences the ecologically conscious consumer psychology of Christians, the non-religious, and atheists in the United States

Sidharth Muralidharan; Carrie La Ferle; Osnat Roth-Cohen

doi:10.1177/00846724231225674

How religiosity and spirituality influences the ecologically conscious consumer psychology of Christians, the non-religious, and atheists in the United States

Sidharth Muralidharan
, Carrie La Ferle
, Osnat Roth-Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite global warming and climate change remaining top environmental issues, many people do not prioritize the environment. However, religious and spiritual beliefs can influence pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, we focused on understanding how religiosity and spirituality among Christians, the non-religious, and atheists, influence ecologically conscious consumer behavior (ECCB) through environmental values (i.e. egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric) and issue involvement. Using Qualtrics, we recruited a US sample of Christians (n = 362), the non-religious (n = 132), and atheists (n = 84). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) analyses confirmed the hypothesized model. Overall, the findings suggest that religiosity is related to the environmental values of Christians and the non-religious. This relationship increased issue involvement and positively impacted participants’ ECCB. More importantly, irrespective of religious affiliation, perceived spiritual connection with nature promoted ECCB.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	71-87
Number of pages	17
Journal	Archive for the Psychology of Religion
Volume	46
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00846724231225674
State	Published - Mar 2024
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: We are grateful to have received funding from the following sources to help undertake this research: the Meadows School of the Arts and the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University and the Sam Taylor Fellowship.

Funders
Meadows School of the Arts
Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Atheism
ecologically conscious consumer behavior
environmental values
issue involvement
non-religious
religiosity
spirituality

Access to Document

10.1177/00846724231225674

Cite this

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abstract = "Despite global warming and climate change remaining top environmental issues, many people do not prioritize the environment. However, religious and spiritual beliefs can influence pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, we focused on understanding how religiosity and spirituality among Christians, the non-religious, and atheists, influence ecologically conscious consumer behavior (ECCB) through environmental values (i.e. egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric) and issue involvement. Using Qualtrics, we recruited a US sample of Christians (n = 362), the non-religious (n = 132), and atheists (n = 84). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) analyses confirmed the hypothesized model. Overall, the findings suggest that religiosity is related to the environmental values of Christians and the non-religious. This relationship increased issue involvement and positively impacted participants{\textquoteright} ECCB. More importantly, irrespective of religious affiliation, perceived spiritual connection with nature promoted ECCB.",

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N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

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AB - Despite global warming and climate change remaining top environmental issues, many people do not prioritize the environment. However, religious and spiritual beliefs can influence pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, we focused on understanding how religiosity and spirituality among Christians, the non-religious, and atheists, influence ecologically conscious consumer behavior (ECCB) through environmental values (i.e. egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric) and issue involvement. Using Qualtrics, we recruited a US sample of Christians (n = 362), the non-religious (n = 132), and atheists (n = 84). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) analyses confirmed the hypothesized model. Overall, the findings suggest that religiosity is related to the environmental values of Christians and the non-religious. This relationship increased issue involvement and positively impacted participants’ ECCB. More importantly, irrespective of religious affiliation, perceived spiritual connection with nature promoted ECCB.

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How religiosity and spirituality influences the ecologically conscious consumer psychology of Christians, the non-religious, and atheists in the United States

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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