Abstract
This chapter examines the involvement of the local church in environmental advocacy in Scotland. It analyzes the motivations and practices of faith-based activists, and asks how locally-based Christian congregations are linking their religious traditions and practices with environmental sustainability. Drawing on an in-depth, ethnographic case study of churches in Edinburgh, Scotland, the research investigates the principal underlying factors that promote environmental concern and contribute to participation and engagement in environmental advocacy within the local church community. Highlighting the importance of place to faith-based engagement in environmental advocacy, this research offers insights to the role of locally-grounded congregations in contributing to a more environmentally and socially-sustainable society.
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Notes
- 1.
The Church of England has diocesan (regional) environmental officers and a major campaign “Shrinking the Footprint,” which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, and 42% by 2020 (www.churchcare.co.uk/shrinking-the-footprint). The Church of Scotland has an appointed Climate Change Officer (https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/speak_out/caring_for_creation/addressing_climate_change) and the UK’s Methodist, United Reformed and Baptist churches have a joint campaign on environmental issues, including lobbying on energy and climate issues (www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/issues/environment). The Catholic Church in Scotland issued “The Environment: A Scottish Catholic Study Guide” in March 2011. All Web sites accessed 08 November 2019.
- 2.
The Climate Coalition (www.theclimatecoalition.org) is a UK-wide network of organizations; Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (www.stopclimatechaos.org) is the equivalent Scottish network.
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The research in this chapter was undertaken while the author was at the University of Edinburgh. This research was supported by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant number AH/K005456/1.
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Hague, A. (2021). Grounded in Community: Christianity and Environmental Engagement in Scotland. In: Silvern, S.E., Davis, E.H. (eds) Religion, Sustainability, and Place. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7646-1_12
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