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Empirical Research on Religion & Ecology
About this bibliography
This list is intended to provide a comprehensive survey of empirical research into religion and environmental action (for lack of better terminology). The reader will find that this includes a large range of peer-reviewed journal articles in social scientific and religious studies journals, but this list also includes a smaller group of monographs in which original empirical research plays a part and articles or chapters which discuss methodological approaches for empirical studies in religion and ecology.
Abstracts included here are produced for an English-speaking audience, but the bibliography is meant to include research in any language. It you notice any errors or missing data, or if you are aware of any research that is not represented here, please send us an email with a citation, a PDF (if you’re the author), and an abstract (if possible) and we’ll be quite glad to include it here. Keeping in mind that this is a diverse discipline straddling both humanities and social sciences, please do note that many very fine studies in religion and ecology aren’t included here because they lack a substantial or original discussion of empirical research.
This bibliography was originally generated to support our empirical work in Scottish churches for the Ancestral Time project and is a work in progress. Over the next year, it will include a variety of research outputs related to our own project research. I also mean to update the list in the coming months so that readers can sort and filter by specific details of each study (sample size, details of research subject etc.). A limited set of these are already represented with the “tag cloud” below. Any feedback is most welcome and we will continue to add new research to this list as it becomes available.
Thanks are also in order to Anthony J. Blasi who maintains the ARDA Sociology of Religion Searchable Bibliographic Database which provided several of the items included below. The dissertation (listed below under 2011) by Martine Vonk provides a useful summary of data involved in empirical studies in Appendix A of her dissertation which was also consulted for this bibliography.
Please get in touch if you’d like to obtain this bibliography in an electronic format. Also, this list is replicated on CiteULike,Mendeley and Zotero for those who are interested in viewing there.
The Bibliography
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By clicking on any of the tags listed directly below you can filter this list by locations studied, methodologies employed (this is not yet a comprehensive list), or survey instruments used. You can also use the drop-down boxes below to filter the list by a variety of elements including date, author, or type.
@article{hagevi_2014a,
title = {Religion and the environmental opinion in 22 countries: a comparative study},
author = { Magnus Hagevi},
doi = {10.1080/03906701.2014.894333},
issn = {0390-6701},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
journal = {International Review of Sociology},
volume = {24},
number = {1},
pages = {91-109},
abstract = {The objective is to test if religiosity affects environmental opinion in Europe. Using data from European Social Survey (ESS) 2002/2003, the study answers three questions. At the societal level: Is public opinion about the environment different in political systems with different Christian traditions? Is environmental concern less or higher in the public opinion depending on the degree of secularization in the political systems? At the individual level: Is the environmental opinion of the individual affected by the personal confession of faith, religious involvement, and the dominant religious context? At the societal level, the findings show stronger concern for the environment in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries than in Protestant countries. The tendency also shows a weakened concern for the environment in countries with a rather secular population. At the individual level, there are significant positive effects on environmental care from Catholic culture, negative effect from Protestant culture, and no effect from religious involvement.},
keywords = {Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, European Social Survey, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, trans-national, UK},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The objective is to test if religiosity affects environmental opinion in Europe. Using data from European Social Survey (ESS) 2002/2003, the study answers three questions. At the societal level: Is public opinion about the environment different in political systems with different Christian traditions? Is environmental concern less or higher in the public opinion depending on the degree of secularization in the political systems? At the individual level: Is the environmental opinion of the individual affected by the personal confession of faith, religious involvement, and the dominant religious context? At the societal level, the findings show stronger concern for the environment in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries than in Protestant countries. The tendency also shows a weakened concern for the environment in countries with a rather secular population. At the individual level, there are significant positive effects on environmental care from Catholic culture, negative effect from Protestant culture, and no effect from religious involvement.
@article{hallerhadler_2008a,
title = {Dispositions to Act in Favor of the Environment: Fatalism and Readiness to Make Sacrifices in a Cross-National Perspective},
author = { Max Haller and Markus Hadler},
url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/20110265},
doi = {10.2307/20110265},
issn = {08848971},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-01-01},
journal = {Sociological Forum},
volume = {23},
number = {2},
pages = {281-311},
publisher = {Wiley},
abstract = {This article hypothesizes that individuals' environmental attitudes depend not only on their knowledge, interests, emotions, and values but also on the social context in which they live. We test this hypothesis by analyzing the 2000/01 ISSP-II Survey on Environmental Attitudes; the data include respondents from 23 countries. Our findings show that individual characteristics influence both "pessimistic environmental orientations" and "the willingness to act in favor of the environment." As for social context, the level of development and affluence, the degree of political centralization, the presence of green movements and parties, and the degree of objective pollution in a country are all important. However, their influences on fatalism and willingness vary.},
keywords = {trans-national},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article hypothesizes that individuals' environmental attitudes depend not only on their knowledge, interests, emotions, and values but also on the social context in which they live. We test this hypothesis by analyzing the 2000/01 ISSP-II Survey on Environmental Attitudes; the data include respondents from 23 countries. Our findings show that individual characteristics influence both "pessimistic environmental orientations" and "the willingness to act in favor of the environment." As for social context, the level of development and affluence, the degree of political centralization, the presence of green movements and parties, and the degree of objective pollution in a country are all important. However, their influences on fatalism and willingness vary.
@article{schultzzelezny_2000a,
title = {A Multinational Perspective on the Relation between Judeo-Christian Religious Beliefs and Attitudes of Environmental Concern},
author = { P. Wesley Schultz and Lynnette Zelezny and Nancy J. Dalrymple},
url = {http://eab.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/576},
doi = {10.1177/00139160021972676},
year = {2000},
date = {2000-01-01},
journal = {Environment and Behavior},
volume = {32},
number = {4},
pages = {576-591},
abstract = {Drawing on a recent multinational survey of environmental attitudes and behaviors, we examined the relation between religious beliefs and environmental concern. Measures included the revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP), Thompson and Barton's ecocentrism and anthropocentrism scales, a 12-item proenvironmental behavior scale, a measure of biblical literalism, and a measure of religious importance. Data are reported from 2,160 university students from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela. The data revealed a consistent pattern across countries. Respondents who expressed more literal beliefs in the Bible scored significantly lower on the NEP, lower on ecocentric environmental concerns, and higher on anthropocentric environmental concerns. No significant relation was found between biblical literalism and self-reported proenvironmental behavior.},
keywords = {Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, NEP, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, trans-national, USA, Venezuela},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Drawing on a recent multinational survey of environmental attitudes and behaviors, we examined the relation between religious beliefs and environmental concern. Measures included the revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP), Thompson and Barton's ecocentrism and anthropocentrism scales, a 12-item proenvironmental behavior scale, a measure of biblical literalism, and a measure of religious importance. Data are reported from 2,160 university students from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela. The data revealed a consistent pattern across countries. Respondents who expressed more literal beliefs in the Bible scored significantly lower on the NEP, lower on ecocentric environmental concerns, and higher on anthropocentric environmental concerns. No significant relation was found between biblical literalism and self-reported proenvironmental behavior.
Dekker, Paul; Ester, Peter; Nas, Masja (1999): Christianity and Environmental Attitudes in Europe: A Comparative Study. In: Tos,; Mohler,; Malnar, (Ed.): Modern Society and Values. A Comparative Analysis based on the ISSP Project, pp. 361-382, 1999.(Type: Incollection | BibTeX | Tags: Europe, International Social Survey Project 1993, trans-national)
@incollection{dekkerester_1999a,
title = {Christianity and Environmental Attitudes in Europe: A Comparative Study},
author = { Paul Dekker and Peter Ester and Masja Nas},
editor = {Tos, M. and Mohler, P.P. and Malnar, B.},
year = {1999},
date = {1999-01-01},
booktitle = {Modern Society and Values. A Comparative Analysis based on the ISSP Project},
pages = {361-382},
keywords = {Europe, International Social Survey Project 1993, trans-national},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Botvar, Paal Ketil (1998): Gud og grønne skoger: en undersøkelse av sammenhenger mellom religiøsitet og miljøvernengasjement. Tapir Forlag, 1998.(Type: Book | BibTeX | Tags: Norway, trans-national, USA)
@book{botvar1998gud,
title = {Gud og grønne skoger: en undersøkelse av sammenhenger mellom religiøsitet og miljøvernengasjement},
author = { Paal Ketil Botvar},
year = {1998},
date = {1998-01-01},
publisher = {Tapir Forlag},
keywords = {Norway, trans-national, USA},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
Ester, Peter; Seuren, (1992): Religious beliefs and environmental attitudes: an empirical test of the Lynn White hypothesis in fourteen nations. In: Sociale Wetenschappen, 35 (1), pp. 20-39, 1992.(Type: Journal Article | BibTeX | Tags: European Values Survey, trans-national)
@article{esterseuren_1992a,
title = {Religious beliefs and environmental attitudes: an empirical test of the Lynn White hypothesis in fourteen nations},
author = { Peter Ester and B. Seuren},
year = {1992},
date = {1992-01-01},
journal = {Sociale Wetenschappen},
volume = {35},
number = {1},
pages = {20-39},
keywords = {European Values Survey, trans-national},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
