SNSF Research Project
The Greening Dynamics of Religion

Research on climate change and sustainability increasingly perceives religion as a key lever for transformations towards environmental sustainability. Religious organisations can draw upon crucial resources to facilitate change (e.g. public visibility, political influence, material resources). In particular, research has pointed to the vast number of members that religions have, and the potential of religions to shape the worldviews and values of their members. By disseminating pro-environmental values and worldviews, religious organisations can promote pro-environmental attitudes and lifestyles among members and contribute to broader transformation processes. In line with this, many religious umbrella organisations and leaders have voiced pro-environmental positions and encourage their followers to engage in more sustainable ways of living (e.g. reducing energy consumption, recycling). However, it is unclear to what extent these actions reach the grassroots and influence members’ values and lifestyles. Therefore, it also remains uncertain whether religious organisations can live up to their expectations and assume a crucial role in societal transitions towards environmental sustainability.

This project will address these questions and study the “greening” of religious organisations. Greening refers to a process by which religions become more environmentally-friendly. This is often imagined as a top-down process that moves from the macro-level of leaders and umbrella organisations via the local congregations to members. Yet, the greening dynamics of religious organisations may not necessarily follow a top-down approach, and each level - umbrella organisations, congregations, members - may generate its own greening dynamics. To date, there is no broad research that relates greening processes at the three different levels with each other.Therefore, this project will undertake a multi-level analysis of religious organisations. It will study (a) the conditions that facilitate the greening at each level of religious organisations and (b) to what extent the conditions at the three levels correspond to each other.

This project is a continuation of the project "Are Religions Becoming Green?" (ARG I). It will draw upon the results from the National Congregation Study Switzerland II (NCSS II) to undertake a stratified random sampling of congregations from different faith backgrounds with high levels of greening in Switzerland. For the selected congregations, member surveys will be conducted that focus on the greening of members and potential influence factors for their greening (including the greening of their congregation). Moreover, the project will undertake interviews with umbrella organisations to study their conditions for greening and their activities to promote greening processes at the other levels (i.e. congregations and members). This project will uncover the greening dynamics at each level of religious organisations. The results will shed light on whether umbrella organisations and congregations indeed have a strong impact on members’ environmental attitudes and lifestyles. Thereby, the project assesses the potential impact of religious organisations in the ongoing transformations towards environmental sustainability.

The project is led by Prof. Dr. Jens Köhrsen at the Centre for Religion, Economy and Politics (ZRWP) at the University of Basel. The team consists of Sana Iqbal, Marie Jäckel, Maja Kofod Jensen and Ann-Lea Buzzi.