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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{koehrsen_2015a,
title = {Does religion promote environmental sustainability?--Exploring the role of religion in local energy transitions},
author = { Jens Koehrsen},
url = {http://scp.sagepub.com/content/62/3/296.short},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
journal = {Social Compass},
volume = {62},
number = {3},
pages = {296-310},
publisher = {SAGE Publications},
abstract = {This article explores the role of religion in local energy transition processes. By combining insights from (a) sustainability studies and (b) academic contributions on religion and sustainability, a theoretical approach for describing the role of religion in local energy transitions is developed. Religion is conceived of as a subsystem among other local subsystems that potentially contribute via their competences to energy transition processes. Three potential functions of religion are identified: (1) campaigning and intermediation in the public sphere; (2) `materialization' of transitions in the form of participation in projects related to sustainable transitions; (3) dissemination of values and worldviews that empower environmental attitudes and action. These functions are studied in the case of the energy transition in Emden, a city in north-western Germany. Although religion attends, to some degree, each of the three functions, it does not assume a dominant role relative to other local subsystems. Actors from other social subsystems appear to take over these functions in a more efficient way. Consequently, in this highly environmentally active region, there are few indicators of a specific function of religion. These results shed a critical light on the previously held assumption that religion has a crucial impact on sustainability transitions.},
keywords = {Germany},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article explores the role of religion in local energy transition processes. By combining insights from (a) sustainability studies and (b) academic contributions on religion and sustainability, a theoretical approach for describing the role of religion in local energy transitions is developed. Religion is conceived of as a subsystem among other local subsystems that potentially contribute via their competences to energy transition processes. Three potential functions of religion are identified: (1) campaigning and intermediation in the public sphere; (2) `materialization' of transitions in the form of participation in projects related to sustainable transitions; (3) dissemination of values and worldviews that empower environmental attitudes and action. These functions are studied in the case of the energy transition in Emden, a city in north-western Germany. Although religion attends, to some degree, each of the three functions, it does not assume a dominant role relative to other local subsystems. Actors from other social subsystems appear to take over these functions in a more efficient way. Consequently, in this highly environmentally active region, there are few indicators of a specific function of religion. These results shed a critical light on the previously held assumption that religion has a crucial impact on sustainability transitions.
@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.
Weaver, Alicia (2002): Determinants of Environmental Attitudes. In: International Journal of Sociology, 32 (1), 2002, ISSN: 0020-7659.(Type: Journal Article | Abstract | BibTeX | Tags: Germany, ISSP, Japan, Russia, UK, USA)
@article{weaver_2002a,
title = {Determinants of Environmental Attitudes},
author = { Alicia A. Weaver},
issn = {0020-7659},
year = {2002},
date = {2002-01-01},
journal = {International Journal of Sociology},
volume = {32},
number = {1},
abstract = {This study explores in detail the determinants of pro-environmental attitudes in a cross-national context, using micro-level data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 1993, Environment, to make comparisons across the US, GB, West Germany, Russia, & Japan. In particular, the effects of background characteristics, religious orientation, political value orientation, & knowledge on pro-environmental attitudes are examined. The analysis shows that pro-environmental attitudes -- about both the consequences of human actions toward the environment & the consequences of environmental problems on human health -- are correlated with belief in the sacredness of nature, liberal values, some kinds of environmental knowledge, & scientific knowledge. Such a relationship occurs among all the countries examined, with some variation in significance & direction of influence. The theoretical & policy oriented implications of these findings are discussed. 6 Tables, 47 References. Adapted from the source document.},
keywords = {Germany, ISSP, Japan, Russia, UK, USA},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This study explores in detail the determinants of pro-environmental attitudes in a cross-national context, using micro-level data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 1993, Environment, to make comparisons across the US, GB, West Germany, Russia, & Japan. In particular, the effects of background characteristics, religious orientation, political value orientation, & knowledge on pro-environmental attitudes are examined. The analysis shows that pro-environmental attitudes -- about both the consequences of human actions toward the environment & the consequences of environmental problems on human health -- are correlated with belief in the sacredness of nature, liberal values, some kinds of environmental knowledge, & scientific knowledge. Such a relationship occurs among all the countries examined, with some variation in significance & direction of influence. The theoretical & policy oriented implications of these findings are discussed. 6 Tables, 47 References. Adapted from the source document.
