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Summarized by Kent Larsen
LDS Women More GreenThan Men
Salt Lake Tribune 3Jun00 N1
By Peggy Fletcher Stack: Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Two BYU professors were to present the results of a
survey of LDS women to the International Communication Association meeting
Saturday, describing a difference between LDS women and men on the
environment. The study shows that LDS women are more supportive of
environmental causes than men. The study is meant to help media
professionals understand how men and women perceive their messages.
The paper communication professors JoAnn Valenti and Daniel Stout included
three surveys, primarily of more than 1,000 LDS women in three cities. "We
were primarily interested in tracking an interesting diversity among women,"
Valenti told the Tribune. She said that they based their findings about men
on just 19 individuals because "their opinions were so pronounced."
The survey made clear that men tend to emphasize the doctrine of having
dominion over the Earth, while women looked more at relationships and
protecting the environment and loved ones. "LDS men emphasized rules when
they made references to religious doctrine and biblical exhortations to
subdue the Earth and have dominion over it," said Valenti. While women
emphasized "the importance of relationships and religious motives to protect
the land, animals, plants and loved ones."
According to Valenti, the men looked at the environment to support progress,
technological advancement and scientific achievement, but the women instead
saw the environment as a way to protect their families and future
generations. Men also tended to put people in front of other life forms
while women only rarely made a distinction.
Valenti and Stout wrote that her findings will "debunk some of the
assumptions that have been made about homogeneity within the religious
public . . . Our research becomes a tool to encourage more attention to the
communication needed to connect spiritual lives and environmental attitudes."
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