Citizens of Planet Earth

The Intertwinement of Religion and Environmentalism in a Globalization Perspective

Abstract

The inability of the nation-state system to handle contemporary environmental issues comprehensively has spurred greater cooperation between religious and secular civil society actors. An empirical analysis of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) contributes to knowledge about this process on an organizational and identity level. Tracing the mobilization of economic resources shows that the ARC functions as a boundary organization between self-declared religious and secular, local, national, and international actors, while the opening ceremony of the 25th anniversary of the ARC illustrates the identity construction of the organization’s network. This identity is based on a commitment to religious pluralism and a strong emphasis on humanity as an integral part of nature. In conclusion, the ARC is considered as an expression of the rise of what Daniel Deudney (1998) and Bron Taylor (2010a) have termed Terrapolitan Earth Religion.