Ives Christopher D, Buys Clark, Ogunbode Charles, Palmer Matilda, Rose Aneira, Valerio Ruth
School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK.
Tearfund, 100 Church Rd, Teddington, TW11 8QE UK.
Sustain Sci. 2023;18(2):877-890. doi: 10.1007/s11625-022-01197-w. Epub 2022 Aug 22.
With growing attention on the importance of values, beliefs and worldviews in shaping environmental outcomes, there remains little research on religion and sustainability transformations. We explored the impact of the Archbishop of Canterbury's environmentally themed Lent Book 2020 "Saying Yes to Life" on environmental values, attitudes and behaviours of lay Christians. An online survey administered before and after reading the book assessed environmental values, New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), connectedness to nature and environmental behaviours, and collected open responses to questions about participants' perceptions. Follow-up focus groups were also held to understand experiences of cognitive and behavioural change. Analysis of paired data revealed significant increases in environmental behavioural intentions after completing the book, especially for energy use, food and recycling. Some evidence for strengthening of NEP scores and connectedness to nature was also found. Open text responses corroborated with quantitative measures of behaviour change. Additionally, the majority of participants reported some form of reinforcement, confirmation, or further development or change in their beliefs and attitudes. This included a reduction in anthropocentric beliefs and greater appreciation of and obligation towards the natural world. Focus group discussions revealed diverse participant experiences, including having pre-existing theological beliefs affirmed, responding with new practical actions, connecting with spiritual experiences, and discovering systemic origins of unsustainability. Findings suggest potential for environmental interventions within religious contexts to shape mindsets, integrate theological views with environmental concerns, activate latent beliefs, and initiate and sustain pro-environmental behaviour. More intentional engagement with religion may facilitate transformative change for sustainability internally and externally, and across individual, organisational and societal domains.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-022-01197-w.
随着人们越来越关注价值观、信仰和世界观在塑造环境成果方面的重要性，关于宗教与可持续发展转型的研究仍然很少。我们探讨了坎特伯雷大主教2020年以环境为主题的四旬期书籍《对生命说“是”》对普通基督徒的环境价值观、态度和行为的影响。在阅读该书前后进行的一项在线调查评估了环境价值观、新生态范式（NEP）、与自然的联系以及环境行为，并收集了关于参与者看法问题的开放式回答。还举行了后续焦点小组讨论，以了解认知和行为变化的经历。对配对数据的分析显示，读完这本书后，环境行为意图有显著增加，尤其是在能源使用、食物和回收利用方面。还发现了一些加强NEP得分和与自然联系的证据。开放式文本回答与行为变化的定量测量结果相佐证。此外，大多数参与者报告说他们的信仰和态度有某种形式的强化、确认、进一步发展或改变。这包括减少以人类为中心的信仰，以及对自然世界有更多的欣赏和责任感。焦点小组讨论揭示了参与者的不同经历，包括已有的神学信仰得到肯定、以新的实际行动做出回应、与精神体验建立联系以及发现不可持续性的系统根源。研究结果表明，宗教背景下的环境干预有可能塑造思维方式，将神学观点与环境问题相结合，激活潜在信仰，并启动和维持环保行为。更有意识地参与宗教活动可能有助于在内部和外部、跨越个人、组织和社会领域实现可持续发展的变革性变化。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s11625-022-01197-w获取的补充材料。
