Studies from Nicolaus Copernicus University Provide New Data on Psychology (Between Lynn White and Big Gods - religious sources of pro-environmental attitudes - cross-cultural test of Lynn White's Hypothesis).

This article reports on a study examining the relationship between religious beliefs and pro-environmental attitudes using data from three waves of the World Values Survey conducted in 1989, 1999, and 2009. The research, conducted by Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland, found a paradoxical pattern: individuals identifying with a religious denomination generally showed lower pro-environmental attitudes than non-affiliated respondents, yet those who placed high personal importance on their religiosity and engaged in religious practices were more likely to hold pro-environmental views. The study noted that these effects were minimal, explaining only 0.4% of the variance, and were detectable due to the large sample size. The findings highlight a complex and nuanced connection between religion and environmental attitudes moderated by religious denomination.