Eco-Spirituality in Environmental Action
Studying Dark Green Religion in the German Energy Transition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.33915Keywords:
energy transition, Dark Green religion, ecospirituality, worldviews, forerunners, sustainability, cities, urban low carbon transition, Germany, anthropocentrismAbstract
There is a rising debate about the religious dimensions of environmentalism. A prominent approach to this phenomenon is Bron Taylor’s Dark Green Religion. Taylor assumes that Dark Green Religion is a globally growing phenomenon which involves “para-religious” perceptions and feelings towards nature. Followers of Dark Green Religion would experience feelings of connectedness to nature, consider it to be sacred and of intrinsic value, and reject anthropocentrism. I discuss Taylor’s argument in the light of a study on an urban energy transition process in Northern Germany. Interviewing actors strongly participating in this process, I find some evidence for features of Dark Green Religion while also revealing their ongoing anthropocentric orientations. The findings suggest a need for more in-depth studies to improve our understanding of eco-religious worldviews among environmentally engaged actors and their impact on sustainability transitions.
References
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Gardner, Gary T. 2003. ‘Engaging Religion in the Quest for a Sustainable World’, in State of the World, 2003: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society (New York: W.W. Norton & Co.): 152-75.
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Hedlund-de Witt, Annick. 2012. ‘Exploring Worldviews and Their Relationships to Sustainable Lifestyles: Towards a New Conceptual and Methodological Approach’, Ecological Economics 84:74-83. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.09.009.
Hedlund-de Witt, Annick. 2013. ‘Pathways to Environmental Responsibility: A Qualitative Exploration of the Spiritual Dimension of Nature Experience’, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 7.2: 154-86. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v7i2.154.
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Nelson, Robert H. 2012. ‘Economics and Environmentalism: Belief Systems at Odds’, The Independent Review 17.1: 5-17.
Rasmussen, Larry L. 2011. ‘Energy: The Challenges to and from Religion’, Zygon 46.4: 985-1002. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2011.01224.x.
Riesebrodt, Martin. 2007. Cultus und Heilsversprechen: Eine Theorie der Religionen (Munich: Beck).
Rolston III, Homes. 2006. ‘Science and Religion in the Face of the Environmental Crisis’, in Gottlieb 2006: 376-97.
Schäfer, Heinrich. 2009. ‘Zum Religionsbegriff in der Analyse von Identitätskon?ikten: Einige sozialwissenschaftliche und theologische Erwägungen’, epd-Dokumentation 5: 6-16.
Shibley, Mark A. 2011. ‘Sacred Nature: Earth-Based Spirituality as Popular Religion in the Paci?c Northwest’, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture 5.2: 164-85. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v5i2.164.
Shove, Elizabeth, and Gordon Walker. 2007. ‘CAUTION! Transitions Ahead: Politics, Practice, and Sustainable Transition Management’, Environmental Planning A 39.4: 763-70. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1068/a39310.
Sovacool, Benjamin K. 2014. ‘What Are We Doing Here? Analyzing Fifteen Years of Energy Scholarship and Proposing a Social Science Research Agenda’, Energy Research & Social Science 1: 1-29. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.02.003.
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Stark, Rodney, and Roger Finke. 2000. Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Taylor, Bron. 2001. ‘Earth and Nature-Based Spirituality (Part I): From Deep Ecology to Radical Environmentalism’, Religion 31.2: 175-93. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/reli.2000.0256.
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Taylor, Bron. 2008. ‘From the Ground Up: Dark Green Religion and the Environmental Future’, in Donald K. Swearer (ed.), Ecology and the Environment: Perspectives from the Humanities (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press): 89-107.
Taylor, Bron. 2010. Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Taylor, Bron. 2013. Avatar and Nature Spirituality (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press).
Tucker, Mary E. 2006. ‘Religion and Ecology: Survey of the Field’, in Gottlieb 2006: 398-418. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195178722.003.0019.
Tucker, Mary E. 2008. ‘World Religions, the Earth Charter, and Sustainability’, Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 12.2: 115-28. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/156853508X359930.
Witt, Joseph D. 2016. Religion and Resistance in Appalachia: Faith and the Fight against Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky).
Woodhead, Linda. 2011. ‘Five Concepts of Religion’, International Review of Sociology—Revue Internationale de Sociologie 21.1: 121-43. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2011.544192.
Becci, Irene, and Christophe Monnot. 2016. ‘Spiritualité et Religion: Nouveaux Carburants vers la Transition Énergétique?’, Histoire, Monde et Cultures Religieuses 40.4: 93-109. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3917/hmc.040.0093.
Bergmann, Sigurd. 2009. ‘Climate Change Changes Religion’, Studia Theologica—Nordic Journal of Theology 63.2: 98-118. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/–00393380903345057.
Bergunder, Michael. 2011. ‘Was ist Religion? Kulturwissenschaftliche Überlegungen zum Gegenstand der Religionswissenschaft’, Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft 19.1-2: 3-55.
Campbell, Colin. 1972. ‘The Cult, the Cultic Milieu and Secularization’, in Michael Hill (ed.), A Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain (London: SCM-Canterbury Press): 119-36.
Campiche, Roland J. 1993. ‘Individualisation du croire et recomposition de la religion’, Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions 81 (janvier-mars): 117-31. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3406/assr.1993.1638.
Clugston, Richard, and Steve Holt (eds). 2012. Exploring Synergies Between Faith Values and Education for Sustainable Development (San José: Earth Charter International).
Dobbelaere, Karel, and Jan Lauwers. 1973. ‘De?nition of Religion: A Sociological Critique’, Social Compass 20.4: 535-51. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/003776867302000403.
Fritz, Justin. 2012. ‘Environmentalism and the “Ecological Indian” in Avatar: A Visual Analysis’, The Arbutus Review 3.1: 67-90. Doi: https://doi.org/10.18357/tar31201211530.
Gardner, Gary T. 2003. ‘Engaging Religion in the Quest for a Sustainable World’, in State of the World, 2003: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society (New York: W.W. Norton & Co.): 152-75.
Gottlieb, Roger (ed.). 2006. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195178722.001.0001.
Gottlieb, Roger. 2008. ‘You Gonna Be Here Long? Religion and Sustainability’, Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 12.2: 163-78. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/156853508X359967.
Hedlund-de Witt, Annick. 2012. ‘Exploring Worldviews and Their Relationships to Sustainable Lifestyles: Towards a New Conceptual and Methodological Approach’, Ecological Economics 84:74-83. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.09.009.
Hedlund-de Witt, Annick. 2013. ‘Pathways to Environmental Responsibility: A Qualitative Exploration of the Spiritual Dimension of Nature Experience’, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 7.2: 154-86. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v7i2.154.
Hervieu-Léger, Danièle. 2003. ‘Individualism, the Validation of Faith, and the Social Nature of Religion in Modernity’, in Richard K. Fenn (ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion (Malden, MA: Blackwell): 161-75. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470998571.ch9.
Huber, Andreas, Jens Köhrsen, and Jannika Mattes. 2013. ‘Towards a Better Understanding of Local Reorganization Processes—Empirical Findings from Two Case Studies’, Proceedings of the ECEEE 2013 Summer Study: 271-82.
Johnston, L.F. 2014. ‘Sustainability as a Global Faith? The Religious Dimensions of Sustainability and Personal Risk’, Journal of the American Academy of Religion 82.1: 47-69. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lft056.
Kimmins, J.P. 1993. ‘Ecology, Environmentalism and Green Religion’, The Forestry Chronicle 69.3: 285-89. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc69285-3.
Klagge, B., and T. Brocke. 2012. ‘Decentralized Electricity Generation from Renewable Sources as a Chance for Local Economic Development: A Qualitative Study of Two Pioneer Regions in Germany’, Energy, Sustainability and Society 2.5: 2-9. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/2192-0567-2-5.
Koehrsen, Jens. 2015. ‘Does Religion Promote Environmental Sustainability? Exploring the Role of Religion in Local Energy Transitions’, Social Compass 62.3: 296-310. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768615587808.
Koehrsen, Jens. 2017a. ‘Boundary Bridging Arrangements: A Boundary Work Approach to Local Energy Transitions’, Sustainability 9.3, 424: 23pp. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su9030424.
Koehrsen, Jens. 2017b. ‘Religious Agency in Sustainability Transitions: Between Experimentation, Upscaling, and Regime Support’, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2017.09.003.
Koehrsen, Jens. 2018. ‘Exogenous Shocks, Social Skill, and Power: Urban Energy Transitions as Social Fields’, Energy Policy 117: 307-15. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.03.035.
Luckmann, Thomas. 1967. The Invisible Religion: The Problem of Religion in Modern Society (New York: Macmillan).
Luckmann, Thomas. 2002. ‘Schrumpfende Transzendenzen, expandierende Religion‘, in Thomas Luckmann (ed.), Wissen und Gesellschaft: Ausgewählte Aufsätze 1981–2002 (Konstanz: UVK Verlagsgesellschaft): 139-55.
Luhmann, Niklas. 2000. Die Religion der Gesellschaft (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag).
Markard, Jochen, Rob Raven, and Bernhard Truffer. 2012. ‘Sustainability Transitions: An Emerging Field of Research and Its Prospects’, Research Policy 41.6: 955-67. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2012.02.013.
Mattes, Jannika, Andreas Huber, and Jens Koehrsen. 2015. ‘Energy Transitions in Small-Scale Regions—What We Can Learn from a Regional Innovation Systems Perspective’, Energy Policy 78: 255-64. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.12.011.
Nelson, Robert H. 2012. ‘Economics and Environmentalism: Belief Systems at Odds’, The Independent Review 17.1: 5-17.
Rasmussen, Larry L. 2011. ‘Energy: The Challenges to and from Religion’, Zygon 46.4: 985-1002. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2011.01224.x.
Riesebrodt, Martin. 2007. Cultus und Heilsversprechen: Eine Theorie der Religionen (Munich: Beck).
Rolston III, Homes. 2006. ‘Science and Religion in the Face of the Environmental Crisis’, in Gottlieb 2006: 376-97.
Schäfer, Heinrich. 2009. ‘Zum Religionsbegriff in der Analyse von Identitätskon?ikten: Einige sozialwissenschaftliche und theologische Erwägungen’, epd-Dokumentation 5: 6-16.
Shibley, Mark A. 2011. ‘Sacred Nature: Earth-Based Spirituality as Popular Religion in the Paci?c Northwest’, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture 5.2: 164-85. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v5i2.164.
Shove, Elizabeth, and Gordon Walker. 2007. ‘CAUTION! Transitions Ahead: Politics, Practice, and Sustainable Transition Management’, Environmental Planning A 39.4: 763-70. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1068/a39310.
Sovacool, Benjamin K. 2014. ‘What Are We Doing Here? Analyzing Fifteen Years of Energy Scholarship and Proposing a Social Science Research Agenda’, Energy Research & Social Science 1: 1-29. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.02.003.
Stadt Emden. 2010. ‘Integriertes Kommunales Klimaschutzkonzept’. Online: https://www.emden.de/?leadmin/media/stadtemden/PDF/FB_300/FD_362/Energie_Klima/klimaschutzkonzept_gesamt_endversion.pdf.
Stark, Rodney, and Roger Finke. 2000. Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Taylor, Bron. 2001. ‘Earth and Nature-Based Spirituality (Part I): From Deep Ecology to Radical Environmentalism’, Religion 31.2: 175-93. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/reli.2000.0256.
Taylor, Bron. 2004. ‘A Green Future for Religion?’ Futures 36.9: 991-1008. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.02.011.
Taylor, Bron. 2008. ‘From the Ground Up: Dark Green Religion and the Environmental Future’, in Donald K. Swearer (ed.), Ecology and the Environment: Perspectives from the Humanities (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press): 89-107.
Taylor, Bron. 2010. Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Taylor, Bron. 2013. Avatar and Nature Spirituality (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press).
Tucker, Mary E. 2006. ‘Religion and Ecology: Survey of the Field’, in Gottlieb 2006: 398-418. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195178722.003.0019.
Tucker, Mary E. 2008. ‘World Religions, the Earth Charter, and Sustainability’, Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 12.2: 115-28. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/156853508X359930.
Witt, Joseph D. 2016. Religion and Resistance in Appalachia: Faith and the Fight against Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky).
Woodhead, Linda. 2011. ‘Five Concepts of Religion’, International Review of Sociology—Revue Internationale de Sociologie 21.1: 121-43. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2011.544192.
Published
2018-06-07
How to Cite
Koehrsen, J. (2018). Eco-Spirituality in Environmental Action: Studying Dark Green Religion in the German Energy Transition. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 12(1), 34–54. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.33915
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