According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released today,
(Oct. 2) - Most Americans rule out either a deliberate act of God or the effect of global warming as direct causes of the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Just under a quarter in this ABC News/Washington Post poll see the hurricanes as "a deliberate act" of God; two-thirds instead see them as an occurrence on God's Earth, but not a deliberate act on God's part. (The rest have no opinion, or don't believe in God.)
Separately, 54 percent think that the severity of recent hurricanes mainly reflects "severe weather events that happen from time to time," rather than the effects of global climate change. Just under four in 10 think climate change is mainly to blame.
That's not to say most people doubt global warming; 56 percent are convinced it's under way. It's just that fewer are persuaded that it has increased hurricane severity.
For whatever reason, ABC News' website (see link above) chose this headline for its article on the poll results:
Most Say God Was Not Factor in Hurricanes
An interesting spin, since the news about the hurricanes has hardly been dominated with a religious debate; rather, the main focus of debate has been scientific--whether or not global warming is responsible for Katrina and Rita. ABC News does, in its subheading, say
A New ABC News/Washington Post Poll Shows Majority of Americans Don't Blame Hurricanes on God or Global Warming
Why the main headline writer focuses on the religious, rather than scientific angle, of the story would make for an interesting discussion of its own.