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---
date: 2019-03-270T16:00:00+01:00
title: "Slowly and quietly we go: Christian Environmentalism in the UK"
date: 2019-03-050T16:00:00+01:00
title: "Spiritual Temporalities Among Christian Environmentalists in Britain in the Twenty-First Century"
host: "From the Cambridge Platonists to Laudato Si: The Theological Roots of Ecology. European Academy of Religion panel sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture"
publishdate: 2019-02-10
publishdate: 2019-03-05
---
I'm very much looking forward to delivering a paper at EAR this year. Details TBA.
I really enjoyed presenting on a panel led by Michael Northcott at EAR this year. Here's my abstract:
In recent years, environmental scientists, political leaders, and communities have begun to press for more holistic and embedded engagements with the global environmental crisis. One strand of this broader push has focussed on the role of lay knowledge and experience in shaping public responses to environmental problems, including religious and culturally specific responses. In this paper, I will focus on the lay experience of time reckoning as an arena for intervention. In contrast to the focus by scholars, activists and environmental NGOs on rehabilitating the human relationship with place, time is much neglected. As I will suggest below, this focus on time is particularly salient for our analysis of modern religious environmental movements as we find quite dramatically different framings by different groups, and also some peculiarly modern framings. In particular, I want to focus on the recent and now global push among Christian and activist groups to celebrate a new liturgical season, "Creation Time" and compare the forms of time reckoning at work there with seasonally specific rituals and festivals celebrated by contemporary neopagan groups.

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date: 2019-03-270T16:00:00+01:00
title: "Religion in Global Environmental Politics: Structuring Religious Environmentalism"
host: "Beyond Belief: Unpacking Religion Across International Studies panel for the International Studies Association conference"
publishdate: 2019-01-10
---
I'll be presenting via Skype for the International Studies Association this year. Here's my abstract:
> Until fairly recently, consideration of religion has been marginal or even nonexistent in the scholarly discourse about environmental politics. Renewed attention to the intersection of these fields has been encouraged by several overlapping developments: Within environmental science, discussion of "environmental values" has opened up towards a larger consideration of the role of religious institutions and personal belief in forming spiritual environmental values (Cooper et al, 2016). In a related way within the more specific policy discurse surronding climate change mitigation and the UN IPCC, policymakers have devoted renewed attention to the place of ethics and religious institutions (Hulme, 2009). The prominent role of religous groups in the buildup to the Paris climate summit, through the historic people's climate march and people's pilgrimage, have coalesced towards a sense of a burgeoning social movement. Following a range of historic declarations by religious leaders, the recent encyclical by Pope Francis signalled a new level of integration between Catholic concerns for social and environmental justice. Yet, much of the continued engagement by large environmental NGOs has continued to bypass intermediate social networks and organisations and have focussed minimalistically on religious grassroots groups as an avenue towards information dissemination and not as legitimate collaborative partners. As we seek to re-vision international environmental politics, this seems an opportune moment to take stock of the modes of environmental policy engagement which are currently dominant and explore whether new forms of policy co-creation, outreach and engagement may be called for. In this paper, which is based on data gathered during five years of fieldwork with European and American REMOs (religious environmental movements), I explore questions of scalar structuration (Giddens 1984, Brenner 2001), multiple social identities (Hillman et al, 2008), and eco-theo-citizenship (Kidwell et al, Forthcoming) and propose new forms of engagement which might offer new forms of intervention for governments and NGOs towards pro-environmental behaviour change.

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date: 2019-03-270T16:00:00+01:00
title: "Slowly and quietly we go: Christian Environmentalism in the UK"
host: "Environment and Society Seminar Series, School of Geography, University of Nottingham"
publishdate: 2019-03-10
publishdate: 2019-03-27
---
I'm very much looking forward to delivering a paper at Nottingham for the School of Geography in March 2019. Here's my abstract:

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class: center, middle
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"Mobilising the Churches Around the Environment":
.xxlargetext[Mobilising the Churches on the Environment:]
.xlargetext[A Summary of the Research]
A Summary of the Research
.mediumtext[002019 Feb 25]
#### Jeremy Kidwell
##### University of Birmingham **School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion**
.largetext[Jeremy Kidwell]
.mediumtext[University of Birmingham]
.mediumtext[*School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion*]
002019 Feb 25
.smalltext[*Note: this presentation is a website, you can view it here: http://bit.ly/mobilising_churches19*]
.footnote[Email: [j.kidwell@bham.ac.uk](mailto:j.kidwell@bham.ac.uk) • Twitter [@kidwellj](https://twitter.com/kidwellj)]
@ -59,7 +74,7 @@ A Summary of the Research
class: center, middle
What does successful mobilisation look like?
## What does successful mobilisation look like?
---
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---
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In practice: marches, demonstations, "buzz", large crowds, energy, surprises...
But, what does successful mobilisation *look* like?
Marches, demonstations, "buzz", large crowds, energy, surprises...
![Person speaking to climate march crowd](images/climate_march.jpg)
---
Caveat #1:
class: center, middle
## "Mobilisation" Caveat #1:
---
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Not just *action* but **quality of** action
@ -91,59 +110,326 @@ Not just *action* but **quality of** action
---
Caveat #2:
class: center, middle
## "Mobilisation" Caveat #2:
---
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We (Christians) have some specific barriers
1. *Policymakers* do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
1. **Policymakers** do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
---
---
Caveat #2:
class: middle
We (Christians) have some specific barriers
1. Policymakers do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
2. *Scholars* do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
2. **Scholars** do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
---
Caveat #2:
---
class: middle
We (Christians) have some specific barriers
1. Policymakers do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
2. Scholars do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
3. *Christians* do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
3. **Christians** do not understand how Christians are engaging with environmental issues
---
class: center, middle
class: middle
This is, in many ways, a completely new field.
## Other barriers:
Eco-theology has struggled to engage with mainstream Christian scholarly reflection
Social scientists have reinforced rather than questioned stereotypes about Christainity
Political leadership lacks literacy about religion in Britain
1. Maturing new groups beyond initial enthusiasm for issues
2. Connecting up calls for individual action with areas where National level policy is required
3. Making the "long game" - sustaining action past the 2-3 year mark towards 10/20/30 year-long campaigns
4. Forming and naming secular partnerships
5. Opposition from within (deniers!)
6. Demographics / denominations with lack of engagement
7. Cross-pressuring effects (other strategic foci, pressure from gassroots vs. denomination, other similar overlapping efforts)
8. Gap between the top and bottom, tendency towards centralised top-down models
9. Focus on building fabric, metrics, carbon management
---
My work:
class: middle
- Establish a new field of study that engages theological reflection, ethnography of religious environmentalism and data science.
- Theology leading a conversation with geographers, policical scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, economists.
My solution: establish an **integrative scholarly field** in engagement with policymakers, scholars, and churches.
- Eco-theology has struggled to engage with mainstream Christian scholarly reflection
- Executives can tend to privilege social psychology and economics over anthropology (e.g. "bar charts" over "books"!)
- Social scientists have reinforced rather than questioned stereotypes about Christainity
- Political leadership lacks literacy about religion in Britain
.footnote[.red[*] Note: secular policymakers and scholars are waking up to the significance of religion and spiritual values. For more on this, see my [Cambridge presentation](https://jeremykidwell.info/files/presentations/presentation_20180130_cambridge_energy.html) and read our paper on "Religion and social values for sustainability" in [Sustainability Science](https://jeremykidwell.info/publications/2019_religion_social_values/) just out this year.]
---
class: middle
## My work involves:
- Working with theological reflection, ethnography of religious environmentalism and data science.
- This is *theologically* informed study of Christian environmentalists flowing into a conversation with geographers, policical scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, economists.
- Communicate this research to public policy audience, third sector, and Christian communities.
Note: *readable executive summary of my research can be found here*:
http://bit.ly/eco-research-summary
---
## Projects:
- 4 year study of Eco-Congregation Scotland (2013-2016) with interdisciplinary team
- Theology & Extinction (2017-2019) research network
- Spiritual Landscapes (fieldwork: 2019-2023)
- Mapping Environmental Action (2013-)
- On-going research collaborations with: A'Rocha, Eco-Congregation Scotland, RSPB, Development Trust Assoc. Scotland, Transition Network, Ecolise.eu, Permaculture Association, C of E, Methodist church, Earth Ministry (USA), and a few more.
---
## Eco-Congregation Study:
- Key question: Do Christians frame climate change differently from secular env. groups?
- 44 eco-Congregations (over 50 interviews)
- Comparator interviews with Transition Scotland groups
- Analysis of 200+ applications to ECS (2005-2014)
- Worked as an ECS award assessor
- Participant observation in network events, analysis of websites, social networks
- Board member of Stop Climate Chaos (2015-2017), interviews with elite NGO actors
---
class: center, middle
So what have we learned so far?
## So what have we learned so far?
---
class: middle
### There are **four different types** of *community environmental group* at the grassroots:
- The **.red[lone voices]**: a single person working in the midst of either indifference or hostility in the wider community.
- The **.red[local heroes]**: as above but with sanction and/or indirect support by the wider community.
- **.red[Small but active]**: a small and generally self-contained group of 3-12 persons.
- Large with differential involvements (**.red[LDI]**): many people with varying levels of participation.
---
class: center, middle
### We need to find ways to engage and support all four types.
Take-away: Green groups are diverse in structure & motivation. It is not safe to assume your church is a template.
---
# Denominations?
We found that denominations are not always the most meaningful divisions.
*At the level of .red[community and region], orientations towards environmental action may coalesce around local community concerns and/or .red[denominational structure].*
Put another way, we may find that Christian Eco-Groups cluster in two genres:
- Cluster 1: churches which are hierarchical/bureaucratic
(CofE, CofS, RC, Methodist, etc.)
- Cluster 2: churches which lack formal meta-organisationsal structure
(Quaker, evangelical, baptist, etc.)
- Networks (ECS, Green Christian, etc.) tend to neglect cluster 2
- Hebridean example
---
class: center, middle
## How do Christians mobilise?
---
class: center, middle
### Key context 1.
## Christians are modest about their achievements
---
class: middle
### Possible consequences:
- Possibly lower ambition re: grants and projects
- Hidden achievements
- Self-description (and public opinion) is dampened
- Comparison to other groups is often negative
- Work by Christians working in other contexts (FOE, Green Peace, community agriculture, etc.) may be ascribed to other secular groups
---
class: center, middle
### Key context 2.
## Christian eco-groups focus on local community
e.g. Churches are good at forming and running committees, and sub-committees...
---
class: middle
### Possible consequences:
- Default .red[focus on building fabric] as site for eco-interventions (solar panels, boiler replacement, windows, lighting, etc.) and .red[church-yard] (if not managed by council)
- "Slow" pace of work (which can impact planning and funding horizons)
#### *Note: these are not bad things!*
---
class: middle
## Take-away 1: issues are not the driver
Whereas for national networks and campaigning organisations, "action" and "issues" can often serve as the main driver.
In contrast, with community groups, the opposite is often the case.
Groups are driven by community formation and support, and issues come afterwards..red[*]
.footnote[.red[*] For more on this, check out ["Christian climate care: Slow change, modesty, and eco-theo-citizenship"](https://jeremykidwell.info/publications/2018_geo/) - hot off the press in 2018.]
---
## Take-away 2. churches are a place for niche & experimentation
.right-column[Specific policy interventions can be helped by a "proof of concept"
Smaller community groups can help to form a "niche" which can serve as laboratories for testing out new ideas.red[*]]
.footnote[.red[*] For more on this, check out: René Kemp, Johan Schot & Remco Hoogma, 1998. "[Regime shifts to sustainability through processes of niche formation: the approach of strategic niche management](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09537329808524310)." Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, vol. 10, iss. 2, pp. 175–198. For an overview of research into sustainability transitions see: Jochen Markard, Rob Raven & Bernhard Truffer, 2012. ["Sustainability transitions: an emerging field of research and its prospects"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004873331200056X). Res. Policy 41 (6), 955–967.]
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---
class: center, middle
# Tactics and Tools for Mobilisation
---
class: center, middle
## Strategy 1: Target engagement
---
class: center, middle
The majority of Eco-groups involve a small unfunded group of volunteers.
They work really hard but **their work can be precarious**. Small resources / encouragement can provide an outsize effect. Similarly, for setbacks.
---
class: center, middle
Community groups and churches can have tremendous **impact within a small space** and have **access to social networks** which are unknown and inaccessible to NGOs and National leadership.
We're often used to the "direct" approach to the public, but might we find ways to treat community groups as intermediaries?
---
class: center, middle
Practical suggestion 1: *Alongside mass campaigns, and broad denomination-level outreach, .red[consider sub-setting groups] for targetted outreach and engagement.
Practical suggestion 2: Support community anchors as "beacon" projects; invest in established projects to leverage as support agents for new projects
---
## Strategy 2: Reach the spectrum
An outsize amount of resource goes to London and the Central Belt in Scotland.
Some areas are "sleeping" and others are "soldiering"
We need to wake up the sleepers and support the soldiers.
---
## Strategy 3: Focus on development
NGOs have limited resources and need quick campaign "wins"
Yet most campaigning in the UK and attention in Christian media focusses on Climate Change
We need to broaden our portfolio of issues.
In some cases, this will require development and education. In others, we may be surprised by the energy around issues like extinction and land use.
---
Action %
- Energy efficiency 79%
- Waste or litter management or recycling 78%
- Links made with development NGO (SCIAF, Oxfam, Christian Aid, Fair Trade) 69%
- Gardening project 42%
- Sought funding or audit for external funding for energy efficiency/renewable energy project (e.g. Climate Challenge Fund, European grant) 33%
- Engaged in some form of direct political action (mailing, contacted MSP/MP etc.) 30%
- Activity focus on animals or wilderness 29%
- Practical action for “neighbour care” (free meals, outreach, etc.) 28%
- Links made with secular environmental NGOs (e.g. Friends of the Earth) 26%
- Food production, growing, or ethical sourcing 8%
- Solar or wind energy project 6%
.footnote[See Geo, p.9 for more]
---
class: center, middle
I can help!
[http://mapping.community](http://mapping.community)
- [Nature conservation](https://carto.mapping.community/user/mapcomm-admin/builder/59e018af-dd26-4c1d-89ae-3b4cfddb5ced/embed)
- [Special places map](https://carto.mapping.community/user/mapcomm-admin/builder/3c583d77-02f7-4eb0-a746-54632caacb82/embed)
- [Partners Map](https://carto.mapping.community/user/mapcomm-admin/builder/6bffc6e5-e8a4-415e-b7f9-f2bfdaca0052/embed)
---
### High Stakes Map
<iframe width="100%" height="520" frameborder="0" src="https://carto.mapping.community/user/mapcomm-admin/builder/f07eefd1-2117-49c4-ba82-d54f99e3403a/embed" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
---
### Conservation Areas
<iframe width="100%" height="520" frameborder="0" src="https://carto.mapping.community/user/mapcomm-admin/builder/59e018af-dd26-4c1d-89ae-3b4cfddb5ced/embed" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
---
Any questions?
---