--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you can frame climate change as an…" description: "\"If you can frame climate change as an alternate religion, or as one more of those issues where the pointy-headed liberal atheist scientists are trying ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg" --- # If you can frame climate change as an alternate religion… ![“If you can frame climate change as an alternate religion, or as one more of those issues where the pointy-headed liberal atheist scientists are trying to discredit the Bible, then you've already got a ton of people on your side who are concerned about heresy, other religions, or teaching evolution…” quote by Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg) > “If you can frame climate change as an alternate religion, or as one more of those issues where the pointy-headed liberal atheist scientists are trying to discredit the Bible, then you've already got a ton of people on your side who are concerned about heresy, other religions, or teaching evolution in schools.” [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Framing climate change as a religious conflict mobilizes people worried about faith and science. **In simple terms:** Linking climate to religion rallies believers. Key Takeaway Use familiar frames to engage skeptics. Themes climate change religion communication politics Mood concerned strategic Type persuasive political When to use this quote - public debates - school curricula - faith communities - policy advocacy Key Concepts framing identity cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does religious framing affect policy support? - Can faith‑based arguments improve scientific literacy? A Different Perspective May alienate secular audiences or oversimplify science. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [There has been a concerted effort to frame caring about climate change and the environment as an alternate religion - one that worships the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/there-has-been-a-concerted-effort-to-frame-caring-about-climate/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [ The world of strict naturalism in which clever mathematical laws all by themselves bring the universe and life into existence, is pure \[science\] fiction.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/the-world-of-strict-naturalism-in-which-clever-mathematical-laws-all/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [I think I came here as a priest... The priest is more concerned with heresy than with sin; sins can be forgiven; heresy must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-bowers/i-think-i-came-here-as-a-priest-the-priest-is-more-concerned-with/) Samuel Bowers > [ You'll be pleased to hear, Christopher, that I am no longer a Muslim liberal but an atheist \[…\] I find that it obviates the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/you-ll-be-pleased-to-hear-christopher-that-i-am-no-longer-a-muslim/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [It's easier to discredit the science than to say that climate change is a genuine issue but we don't want to do anything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/it-s-easier-to-discredit-the-science-than-to-say-that-climate-change/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [If I had to catalog all the moronic plot turns in The Day After Tomorrow, we'd be here until the next ice age. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edelstein/if-i-had-to-catalog-all-the-moronic-plot-turns-in-the-day-after/) [David Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edelstein/) > [I would like especially to mention you, the women, wives and mothers of Paraguay, who at great cost and sacrifice were able to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-would-like-especially-to-mention-you-the-women-wives-and-mothers-of/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [People will let you down in this life, promises will be broken, you should expect less of others and trust more in yourself. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/people-will-let-you-down-in-this-life-promises-will-be-broken-you/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [Just as it is the province of science to find out what the facts of life are, to classify them and use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-dougall/just-as-it-is-the-province-of-science-to-find-out-what-the-facts-of/) Lily Dougall > [I don't want to discredit people's opinions of me, but you talk about the violin or the cello or lead guitar where you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/i-don-t-want-to-discredit-people-s-opinions-of-me-but-you-talk-about/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [Remember this, and remember this well: when someone is telling the TRUTH and exposing information that is meant to be hidden from the masses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/remember-this-and-remember-this-well-when-someone-is-telling-the/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [The world is full of vulgar Purists, who bring discredit on all selection by the silliness of their choice; and this the more, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-world-is-full-of-vulgar-purists-who-bring-discredit-on-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Marriage is honourable, as you say; and if so, wherefore should Cuckoldom be a Discredit, being deriv'd from so honourable a Root?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/marriage-is-honourable-as-you-say-and-if-so-wherefore-should/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [I learned quickly that if the student’s perception is that you’re not listening to them, and not understanding them, they discredit you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/i-learned-quickly-that-if-the-student-s-perception-is-that-you-re-not/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [The definition of insanity is doing the same thing with the same result over and over again, expecting something different. The left just spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-definition-of-insanity-is-doing-the-same-thing-with-the-same/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) ## More by Katharine Hayhoe > [Our carbon emissions have to eventually go to zero. We have to. Otherwise we're never going to have a stable climate and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/our-carbon-emissions-have-to-eventually-go-to-zero-we-have-to/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [If we smoke, there's no magic number of cigarettes, or number of years, that we can smoke before we know we'll get lung cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/if-we-smoke-there-s-no-magic-number-of-cigarettes-or-number-of-years/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [We're not paying a real price for carbon. If we were, we wouldn't be using as much. We need to have the right perspective.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/we-re-not-paying-a-real-price-for-carbon-if-we-were-we-wouldn-t-be/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [It's easier to discredit the science than to say that climate change is a genuine issue but we don't want to do anything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/it-s-easier-to-discredit-the-science-than-to-say-that-climate-change/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [People have taken advantage of the very well-trodden pathways that divide science and faith on other issues, such as creation, evolution, and the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/people-have-taken-advantage-of-the-very-well-trodden-pathways-that/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [When I look around, the biggest way in which we are failing to care for those in need is through ignoring climate change and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/when-i-look-around-the-biggest-way-in-which-we-are-failing-to-care/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [I think it's interesting that the United States and Australia are two of the most individualistic nations in the entire world in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/i-think-it-s-interesting-that-the-united-states-and-australia-are-two/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [The first thing we can do as individuals and as communities, like a school or a university or a church, is cut our energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/the-first-thing-we-can-do-as-individuals-and-as-communities-like-a/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [It's easier to deny the reality of the problem altogether than acknowledge that it is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/it-s-easier-to-deny-the-reality-of-the-problem-altogether-than/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [I don't have to change the world all by myself, I just need to partner in the work God wants us to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/i-don-t-have-to-change-the-world-all-by-myself-i-just-need-to-partner/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [I feel that one of the most important things I can do is connect climate change to the values, the faith, and the issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/i-feel-that-one-of-the-most-important-things-i-can-do-is-connect/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [We have to reach out to churches and schools and help people understand science, and we have to build rapport between scientists and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/we-have-to-reach-out-to-churches-and-schools-and-help-people/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [I've even had people tell me that I must not be a Christian because I think climate change is real. But you know, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/i-ve-even-had-people-tell-me-that-i-must-not-be-a-christian-because-i/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [When I talk to my neighbor, or to someone at church who doesn't accept that the planet is changing, I know that they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/when-i-talk-to-my-neighbor-or-to-someone-at-church-who-doesn-t-accept/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [One of the biggest issues with renewables right now is the fact that if the wind isn't blowing, if the sun isn't shining, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/one-of-the-biggest-issues-with-renewables-right-now-is-the-fact-that/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) [Explore all 41 Katharine Hayhoe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. 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Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you can frame climate change as an alternate religion, or as one more of those issues where the pointy-headed liberal atheist scientists are trying to discredit the Bible, then you've already got a ton of people on your side who are concerned about heresy, other religions, or teaching evolution in schools.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katharine Hayhoe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-alternate-religion-or-as-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-alternate-religion-or-as-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/katharine-hayhoe-15846_atheist_if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-al_2269962.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you can frame climate change as an alternate religion, or as one more of those issues where the…” — Katharine Hayhoe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Katharine Hayhoe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you can frame climate change...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-alternate-religion-or-as-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/if-you-can-frame-climate-change-as-an-alternate-religion-or-as-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```