Climate Eschatology, Eco-Anxiety, and the Social Indicators of Well-Being In Turbulent Times

The theme of the XXI ISA World Congress, “Global Sociology in Turbulent Times,” demands an interrogation of the existential horizons defining contemporary social life.

Climate change has led to a rise in secular eschatological, or "end-times," narratives that produce quantifiable shifts in public perception and behavior, driving a need for robust statistical indicators alongside qualitative studies to fully measure these changes. For scholars of Quality of Life (QoL) and social indicators, this presents a specific methodological challenge: determining how to measure the psychological impact on populations that expect severe environmental decline.

As climate-related anxiety becomes more widespread, standard metrics for measuring subjective well-being and social progress are proving insufficient. This session aims to expand the focus of RC55 by examining how these climate-driven narratives affect global Quality of Life. We ask: What are the relevant social indicators for populations anticipating environmental collapse? Furthermore, how do varying eschatological perspectives, ranging from fatalism to hope for post-crisis rebuilding, affect community resilience, social cohesion, and individual life satisfaction?

We invite theoretical, empirical, and methodological papers that explore the relationship between climate change narratives, perceptions of the future, and overall well-being. By connecting the social indicators and sociology of climate change with QoL research, this session seeks to evaluate human well-being within the context of current environmental constraints.