The interplay between religion and climate change has been extensively assessed in the Global North. However, the Global South where religion plays a crucial social role and is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change remains less explored. Moreover, existing literature suggests a need for cross-national studies on evangelicalism and climate change within different contexts. In response, we examined the attitudes and responses of Ethiopian evangelicals to climate change using a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was administered to 264 respondents, representing four denominations in Addis Ababa. The results showed that the vast majority of respondents hold information about climate change that aligns well with the IPCC's assertions. The notion that evangelicals' doctrinal beliefs lead to anti-environmentalism isn’t supported here; respondents across denominations hold similar viewpoints. the study showed that majority of urban Ethiopian evangelicals (97.7%) believe climate change is real and primarily driven by human activity, placing higher trust in climate scientists (79.9%) and religious leaders (51.5%) than in government officials. These findings suggest that effective climate action plans in this context should be strategically channeled through faith-based platforms to enhance engagement. However, a gap exists between belief, level of concern, and practical responses. We concluded that Ethiopian evangelicals could potentially engage in climate action if obstacles to practical responses are addressed.
| Published in | Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 12, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11 |
| Page(s) | 69-78 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Climate Change, Evangelicals, Attitude, Response, Ethiopia
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APA Style
Sima, M. N., Dalelo, A., Tafess, T. (2026). Ethiopian Evangelicals' Attitudes Towards and Responses to Climate Change: Implications for Environmental and Theological Research. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 12(3), 69-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11
ACS Style
Sima, M. N.; Dalelo, A.; Tafess, T. Ethiopian Evangelicals' Attitudes Towards and Responses to Climate Change: Implications for Environmental and Theological Research. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2026, 12(3), 69-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11,
author = {Mikiyas Nigussie Sima and Aklilu Dalelo and Tibeb Tafess},
title = {Ethiopian Evangelicals' Attitudes Towards and Responses to Climate Change: Implications for Environmental and Theological Research},
journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
volume = {12},
number = {3},
pages = {69-78},
doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20261203.11},
abstract = {The interplay between religion and climate change has been extensively assessed in the Global North. However, the Global South where religion plays a crucial social role and is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change remains less explored. Moreover, existing literature suggests a need for cross-national studies on evangelicalism and climate change within different contexts. In response, we examined the attitudes and responses of Ethiopian evangelicals to climate change using a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was administered to 264 respondents, representing four denominations in Addis Ababa. The results showed that the vast majority of respondents hold information about climate change that aligns well with the IPCC's assertions. The notion that evangelicals' doctrinal beliefs lead to anti-environmentalism isn’t supported here; respondents across denominations hold similar viewpoints. the study showed that majority of urban Ethiopian evangelicals (97.7%) believe climate change is real and primarily driven by human activity, placing higher trust in climate scientists (79.9%) and religious leaders (51.5%) than in government officials. These findings suggest that effective climate action plans in this context should be strategically channeled through faith-based platforms to enhance engagement. However, a gap exists between belief, level of concern, and practical responses. We concluded that Ethiopian evangelicals could potentially engage in climate action if obstacles to practical responses are addressed.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Ethiopian Evangelicals' Attitudes Towards and Responses to Climate Change: Implications for Environmental and Theological Research AU - Mikiyas Nigussie Sima AU - Aklilu Dalelo AU - Tibeb Tafess Y1 - 2026/09/27 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11 T2 - Advances in Sciences and Humanities JF - Advances in Sciences and Humanities JO - Advances in Sciences and Humanities SP - 69 EP - 78 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2472-0984 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261203.11 AB - The interplay between religion and climate change has been extensively assessed in the Global North. However, the Global South where religion plays a crucial social role and is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change remains less explored. Moreover, existing literature suggests a need for cross-national studies on evangelicalism and climate change within different contexts. In response, we examined the attitudes and responses of Ethiopian evangelicals to climate change using a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was administered to 264 respondents, representing four denominations in Addis Ababa. The results showed that the vast majority of respondents hold information about climate change that aligns well with the IPCC's assertions. The notion that evangelicals' doctrinal beliefs lead to anti-environmentalism isn’t supported here; respondents across denominations hold similar viewpoints. the study showed that majority of urban Ethiopian evangelicals (97.7%) believe climate change is real and primarily driven by human activity, placing higher trust in climate scientists (79.9%) and religious leaders (51.5%) than in government officials. These findings suggest that effective climate action plans in this context should be strategically channeled through faith-based platforms to enhance engagement. However, a gap exists between belief, level of concern, and practical responses. We concluded that Ethiopian evangelicals could potentially engage in climate action if obstacles to practical responses are addressed. VL - 12 IS - 3 ER -
Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Center for Population Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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