Environmental activity in local churches. NCLS Occasional Paper 20. Miriam Pepper and Ruth Powell August 2013

Transcription

1 NCLS Occasional Paper 20 Environmental activity in local churches Miriam Pepper and Ruth Powell August 2013 Locked Bag 2002 Strathfield NSW 2135 (p) (e) info@ncls.org.au (w)

2 Abstract Within church circles, there has been increased attention over recent decades to environmental concerns. However, knowledge about the relative uptake of activities in local churches in Australia, and who is doing what and where, is mostly patchy and anecdotal. Results from approximately 2,400 local churches that participated in the 2011 National Church Life Survey address this gap. The results indicate modest increases in environmental engagement among churches over the last 15 years. With the exception of recycling (two thirds of churches) and the purchase of environmentally friendly consumables (one third of churches), the most common activities in 2011 were implementation of energy and water saving measures at church buildings, the usual inclusion of environmental concerns in worship, and the celebration of a day or a season with an environmental theme in the previous five years, with approximately a quarter of local churches having done these activities. Biodiversity conservation activities and switching to GreenPower were the least common, with less than a twentieth of churches. Engagement varied markedly across denominations and was particularly high in the Uniting Church, followed by Catholic and Anglican churches. The Pentecostal churches were the least active. Activity was particularly high in the centres of capital cities and lowest in rural areas. Table of contents 1 Introduction About the NCLS and the environmental activity questions How has environmental activity changed over the last ten years? What specific environmental activities are being conducted in churches? How do environmental activities differ by denomination? How do environmental activities differ by locality? Discussion References About About the National Church Life Survey... 9 List of tables Table 1: 2011 Operations Survey questions about specific environmental activities... 2 Table 2: Church environmental activity by denomination... 4 Table 3: Church environmental activity by location... 5 List of figures Figure 1: Frequency of environmental/animal welfare activities in churches... 2 Figure 2: Environmental audits conducted in churches... 3 Figure 3: Types of environmental activities in churches... 3 Acknowledgments Production of this paper would not have been possible without the work of the other members of the NCLS Research team, who at timing of writing included: C. Chinnadurai, M. Dowson, I. Duncum, N. Hancock, K. Kerr, C. Mollidor, S. Sterland, and A. Vaeafisi. Citation Pepper, M. & Powell, R. (2013) Environmental activities in local churches, Occasional Paper 20. Adelaide: Mirrabooka Press., 2013 Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

3 Page 1 1 Introduction Within church circles there has been increased attention over recent decades to environmental concerns. Global Christian leaders, notably the Ecumenical Patriarch, the last two Roman Catholic Popes and the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke publicly about Christian environmental responsibility, exhorting Christians to take action as well as claiming a Christian contribution in the broader public sphere. 1 The World Council of Churches has a longstanding Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (now Justice, Diakonia and Responsibility for Creation) program. 2 Ecological theology is now a rapidly growing sub-discipline. Particularly among the larger church denominations in Australia (namely, the Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Churches), there is evidence of a widening sphere of social concern which has expanded from matters such as social justice and peacemaking to also include the environment as well as the relationships between environmental degradation and human flourishing. 3 These denominations and the National Council of Churches have each produced environmental statements, which call upon their adherents to care for the Earth. 4 Given the implications of climate change for the global poor, some Christian international aid and development organisations are now also actively engaged in raising awareness about climate change among the churches and in public policy related advocacy. There has also been ecumenical collaboration seeking to raise environmental awareness, appreciation, commitment and activity among the churches. The National Council of Churches Eco Mission project, established in 2011, is one such example. 5 The statebased ecumenical councils have also collaborated on environmental matters (e.g. the Sustainable September project in Western Australia). 6 The Season of Creation is an ecumenical project that has been running since 2004, which encourages churches to celebrate a Season of Creation every September/October and produces supporting worship materials 7. Congregations and parishes in Australia, and now internationally, take part. In addition to creation-sensitive worship, practical environmental activity is now occurring in congregations and parishes, such as energy audits, installation of water tanks and community gardening. Such activity is often supported by (and/or may prompt the development of) denominational and ecumenical resources for taking practical action. However, knowledge among leaders and environmental advocates in the Churches about the relative uptake of activities, and who is doing what and where, is mostly patchy and anecdotal. The 2011 National Church Life Survey (NCLS) sought to address this gap and to paint a picture of local church-based environmental activity in Australia. 2 About the NCLS and the environmental activity questions In the 2001, 2006 and 2011 Operations Survey audits of local church activity, the survey informant was asked to indicate whether the congregation/parish had engaged in any animal welfare or environmental activities over the past 12 months (and in the 2006 and 2011 surveys, the frequencies of such activities). In 2006 and 2011, the informant was also asked whether the congregation/parish had undertaken an environmental audit of church buildings in the preceding five years. 1 See for example, Chryssavgis (undated); Benedictus PP. XVI (2010), Ioannes Paulus PP. II (1990), Williams (2004). 2 See accessed 9 April This has been well documented by Douglas (2007). 4 E.g. Anglican Church of Australia General Synod (2007), Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (2002), National Council of Churches in Australia (2001), The Climate Institute (2006), Uniting Church in Australia Assembly (1991). 5 accessed 9 April The 2011 Operations Survey also included a battery of some 20 items about environmental activities, including in the areas of worship, operations of church buildings, and community projects and events. The question wording is shown in Table 1, with alternate Catholic 6 Information about Sustainable September is available at accessed 9 April accessed 9 April Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

4 Page 2 wordings italicised and in square brackets, and with short labels that are subsequently used in charts and data tables also given. Table 1: 2011 Operations Survey questions about specific environmental activities Question wording In the past 5 years, has this congregation [parish] undertaken any of the following activities? (Mark ALL that apply) Celebrated a day or season with an environmental theme (eg Season of Creation, Environment Sunday) Run a Bible study [an adult faith education session] on an environmental theme Run a children's activity on an environmental theme Hosted and/or run a community garden Taken action to conserve biodiversity (eg hosted a native garden, raised funds for endangered species) Held a public event on an environmental theme Worked on an environmental activity/project in the local community (eg Clean Up Australia Day, Landcare project) Collaborated with an environmental group (eg local bushcare group, national environmental organisation) Contacted an elected government member about an environmental issue None of the above Short label Day/season Bible study Kids activity Cmty garden Biodiversity Public event Local project Collaborated Contacted MP None, actions 3 How has environmental activity changed over the last ten years? As shown in Figure 1, the results for engagement in animal welfare or environmental activities suggest an increased engagement between 1996 and 2011 from 2% of local Protestant churches in 1996 (and of Catholic and Protestant churches in 2001) to 10% of churches in 2011 having engaged in any activities. Figure 1: Frequency of environmental/animal welfare activities in churches Year Never Occasionally At least monthly At least weekly Daily/most days Have any of the following been done at the church's buildings in the past 5 years? (Mark ALL that apply) An environmental audit Implementation of water saving measures Installation of rainwater tanks or water recycling Implementation of energy saving measures Switch to government accredited GreenPower Installation of solar panels or solar hot water heating None of the above Do any of the following usually happen at this congregation [parish]? (Mark ALL that apply) Inclusion of environmental concerns in worship (eg through hymns/songs, prayers, sermons/homilies [homilies]) Purchasing of environmentally friendly consumables (eg recycled paper for the office, cleaning products) Use of Council recycling services Sourcing of food that is more environmentally friendly for meals at church (eg local produce, less meat) Composting of food wastes from meals at church Provision of information to attenders to help them to be more environmentally friendly in daily life None of the above Enviro audit Water saving Water tank Energy saving GreenPower Solar panels None, bldgs Env worship Consumables Recycling Enviro food Composting Information None, usual Percentage of churches Note: 1996 data is for Protestant churches only. Data for 2001 onwards includes Protestant and Catholic churches. The question format differed in 2001 compared with the other years (churches were only able to indicate whether they did or didn t do the activity, not the frequency). Source: NCLS Operations Surveys 1996 (n=10,255), 2001 (n=6,148), 2006 (n=5,897) and 2011 (n=2,270). The results also indicate a small increase for environmental audits of church buildings, from 13% of local churches indicating that they had done so in the previous five years in 2006, to 16% in 2011, as shown in Figure 2. Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

5 Page 3 Figure 2: Environmental audits conducted in churches Figure 3: Types of environmental activities in churches Year Source: NCLS Operations Surveys 2006 (n=5,996) and 2011 (n=2,312) Percentage of churches 4 What specific environmental activities are being conducted in churches? Figure 3 shows the percentage of local churches that indicated that they had undertaken the various environmental activities that were included in the 2011 Operations Survey, ranked from most common to least common. The majority of congregations (almost two thirds) indicated that they recycled, which is reflective of the widespread nature of recycling services across Australia. A third of churches indicated that they purchased environmentally friendly consumables. Next most popular were the implementation of energy savings measures at church buildings, celebration of a day or a season with an environmental theme, inclusion of environmental concerns in worship, and implementation of water saving measures at church buildings, with approximately a quarter of churches indicating that they had done these. In apparent contrast to the relatively high degree of inclusion of environmental awareness in worship, Bible studies/adult faith education sessions and children s activities on an environmental theme were much less common, with less than 15% of congregations/parishes having undertaken these activities. Recycling Consumables Energy saving Day/season Env worship Water saving Water tank Enviro audit Kids activity Local project Bible study Information Contacted MP Enviro food Solar panels Cmty garden Composting Collaborated Public event GreenPower Biodiversity None, usual None, bldgs None, actions Source: 2011 NCLS Operations Survey (n=2,284 to 2,331) Percentage of churches Environmental actions in past 5 years Changes to church buildings in past 5 years Usual environmental activities The least popular activities were taking action to conserve biodiversity, switching to GreenPower, and holding a public event on an environmental theme, with 5% or fewer of churches having done each of these. Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

6 Page 4 5 How do environmental activities differ by denomination? Churches are grouped into the following denominational groupings for comparison: Anglican, Baptist/Churches of Christ, Catholic, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Uniting Church, and Other Protestant 8. When the number of environmental activities (of a possible total of 21) reportedly undertaken by a congregation/parish was added up, it was found that the median number of activities undertaken in the Uniting Church was 4, in Catholic and Anglican churches it was 3, in Pentecostal churches it was 1, and in the remaining churches it was 2. Breakdowns by denomination for individual activities (listed in Table 2), indicate that, statistically, all activities differ significantly by denomination. The most popular activities showed a particularly strong variation across denominations. In the case of recycling, over 75% of Catholic parishes recycled, yet less than 40% of Pentecostal churches recycled. More than a third of Anglican and Uniting churches had implemented energy saving measures, yet equal to or less than 20% of the Lutheran churches, Pentecostal churches and churches in the Other Protestant category did so. Strong variation is apparent once again for the integration of environmental matters in worship. Almost half of Uniting churches had celebrated a day or season with an environmental theme, but fewer than 5% of Pentecostal churches had done so, with a similar pattern for whether or not churches usually included environmental concerns in worship. When denominations were ranked on each activity (so the denomination with the highest percentage of churches that have undertaken the particular activity is ranked as 1), the Uniting Church had the highest average rank across all activities, followed by Catholic and Anglican Churches, then Baptist/Churches of Christ churches, Other Protestants, Lutherans, and Pentecostals. However, Lutheran churches ranked well (compared to their uptake of other activities) on celebrating a day/season with an environmental theme (which may reflect the adoption of the Season of Creation, which, although ecumenical, was originally developed and championed by a Lutheran, Norman Habel. Pentecostal churches ranked relatively highly on contacting a government representative about an environmental issue, second to the Uniting Church. Churches in the Other Protestant category were most likely of all churches to indicate that they sourced environmentally friendly food for meals at church. Table 2: Church environmental activity by denomination Baptist/ Church -es of Christ Anglican Catholic Lutheran Pentecostal Uniting Other Protestant Activity Percentage of churches Day/season Bible study Kids activity Cmty garden Biodiversity Public event Local project Collaborated Contacted MP None, actions (46) (66) (52) (60) (76) (34) (62) Enviro audit Water saving Water tank Energy saving GreenPower Solar panels None, bldgs. (40) (59) (45) (60) (82) (37) (65) Env worship Consumables Recycling Enviro food Composting Information None, usual (18) (25) (12) (36) (50) (19) (20) Source: 2011 NCLS Operations Survey (n=2,284 to 2,331). 8 Pentecostal may include respondents from any of the following denominations: C3 Churches, Apostolic, Australian Christian Churches (AOG), CRC Churches, Christian Life Churches, Four Square Gospel, Christian Outreach Centres, Bethesda, International Pentecostal Holiness Church, and other Pentecostal groups. Other Protestant may include respondents from any of the following denominations: Adventist, Brethren, CMA, Congregational, Grace Communion, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Salvation Army, Vineyard and other independent churches. 6 How do environmental activities differ by locality? Survey informants were asked to choose the locality of their church from among the following options: Rural area (less than 200 people) Small rural town (200 to 2000 people) Rural service centre (2,000 to 10,000) Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

7 Page 5 Large rural centre (10,000 to 20,000) Regional centre (more than 20,000 people) Centre of a State or Territory capital city Suburbs of a State or Territory capital city Churches are now grouped into these localities for comparison, with the results displayed in Table 3. When the number of activities (of a possible total of 21) reportedly undertaken by a local church was added up, it was found that the median number of activities undertaken in the centre of a capital city was 4, in the suburbs of a capital city and large rural centres it was 3, and in regional centres, rural service centres and small rural towns) it was 2. In rural areas (less than 200 people) it was 1. Table 3: Church environmental activity by location Rural area Small rural town Rural service centre Large rural centre Regional centre Centre capital city Suburb capital city Activity Percentage of churches Day/season Bible study Kids activity Cmty garden Biodiversity* Public event Local project* Collaborated* Contacted MP None, actions (66) (57) (55) (58) (55) (37) (52) Enviro audit Water saving Water tank Energy saving GreenPower Solar panels* None, bldgs. (62) (58) (54) (50) (55) (38) (52) Env worship Consumables Recycling Enviro food* Composting* Information* None, usual (55) (37) (31) (14) (25) (11) (18) *Indicates that the differences between locations are not statistically significant. Source: 2011 NCLS Operations Survey (n=2,146 to 2,188). The take-up of most individual activities (14 of 21) also differed by church location. Recycling varied particularly strongly by location; a smaller proportion of local churches recycled in rural areas than in regional and city areas, which may be reflective of the lack of recycling services in the former. It may be surprising that fewer than four fifths of local churches in capital cities recycled, when it is highly likely that all city councils have recycling services. The explanation may be that churches in some areas may be required to pay for recycling services (like businesses do), rather than having them provided free of charge as residents do. In terms of the implementation of energy saving measures, urban churches (churches in the centre of a capital city) had the highest proportion of churches that had implemented these, and rural churches the lowest. Urban churches again scored the highest for celebrating an environmental day/season and usually including environmental concerns in worship, with considerably less variation among the churches in other locations. When localities were ranked on each activity (so the locality with the highest percentage of churches that have undertaken the particular activity is ranked as 1), urban and suburban areas of capital cities tended to report the highest levels of activities, followed by regional centres and rural service centres, and finally rural towns and rural areas. Half of urban churches had celebrated a day or season with an environmental theme, and almost half had implemented energy saving measures at church buildings. Approximately a third of urban churches had undertaken each of the following: run a Bible study/ faith discussion group on an environmental theme, run an environmental children s activity, conducted an environmental audit, implemented water saving measures. A quarter or more of urban churches had: hosted/run a community garden, installed rainwater tanks or water recycling. Churches in large rural service centres ranked relatively highly (compared to their ranking on other activities) on contacting a government member about an environmental issue. In fact, they ranked higher on this activity than all other localities. Churches in rural service centres ranked relatively highly on switching to GreenPower, churches in small rural towns ranked relatively highly on hosted and/or run a community garden, and churches in rural areas ranked relatively highly on the installation of rainwater tanks. Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

8 Page 6 7 Discussion Results from 1996 to 2011 indicate a small increase environmental activity in churches over time. The majority of congregations/parishes (just under twothirds) recycle, which is reflective of the widespread nature of recycling services across Australia. Some activities related to the operations of buildings and property the implementation of energy and water savings measures were relatively popular, with approximately a quarter of churches indicating that they had done these in the preceding five years. Implementation of these measures may be motivated by cost savings as much as by environmental concern, particularly given increases in electricity prices. Approximately a quarter of congregations/parishes indicated that they usually included environmental concerns in worship, and that they had celebrated a day or a season with an environmental theme in the previous five years. However, the use of Bible studies/faith discussion groups and children s activities on an environmental theme were much less popular. There are a variety of small group and children s resources available, so the lower figures may reflect factors other than a lack of materials. Not all churches have small groups or children s activities, and for those that do, more effort may need to be invested in organising such programs or activities as compared with other activities e.g. once-off services on an environmental theme, or the regular inclusion in worship of environmentally sensitive songs or prayers. The least popular activities were taking action to conserve biodiversity, switching to GreenPower, and holding a public event on an environmental theme. In the case of public events, the low take up may in part reflect the effort required to organise such initiatives. Financial costs may limit the uptake of GreenPower, although it is usually possible to switch to a proportion of GreenPower at no extra cost. In the case of biodiversity conservation, efforts such as planting indigenous plants in the church garden, or taking up a collection for a threatened species may not take considerable effort. Their lack of popularity suggests that biodiversity conservation is not of particular interest or concern to most churches. Environmental activity was particularly high in the Uniting Church, followed by Catholic and Anglican churches. The Pentecostal churches were the least active. This denominational pattern of activity matches the pattern of institutional environmental engagement by denominational structures, which is greater in the Catholic and mainstream Protestant denominations. The Uniting Church particularly has been a leader in such institutional engagement, with its environmental policies preceding anything similar in the Catholic and Anglican denominations by some 20 years 9. The Uniting Church is also prominent in public policy environmental advocacy (particularly in relation to climate change), and has played a strong role in ecumenical environmental initiatives, such as through the state and national councils of churches. It is also notable that the Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches have all explicitly named environmental matters as an aspect of mission. The fifth mark of mission of the Anglican Communion is to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth 10, Pope John Paul II spoke of the need to encourage and support the ecological conversion 11, and the Uniting Church s founding document states that the Church s call is to serve that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. 12 Moreover, churches which belong to denominations with stronger or more centralised institutional structures may receive stronger encouragement, resourcing and support to take environmental action, in comparison with denominations such as the Baptists, Churches of Christ and Pentecostal movements in which local churches are more autonomous. That many Pentecostal churches don t own their own buildings may help to explain the low levels of environmental actions concerning buildings. But the consistently low levels of Pentecostal activity across the spectrum of environmental activities included in the 2011 NCLS suggests that there are other factors at 9 Douglas (2007, p. 221), although Douglas s research and that of Pepper and John (forthcoming) indicates that the implementation of environmental policies in the Uniting Church has been patchy accessed 9 April John Paul II (2001). 12 Uniting Church in Australia (1992). Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

9 Page 7 play. Other research examining Pentecostal responses to sustainability issues argues that in Pentecostal churches there is a focus on individual spirituality to the neglect of social concerns, conservative eschatology (end times theology), and that prosperity theology may work against environmentalism (Sheppard, 2006). However, the research also suggested that there are elements that may motivate Pentecostals to engage with environmental problems, such as sensitivity to the seriousness of evil in the world and to the escalation of global crises. Environmental activity was particularly high in the capital cities and lowest in rural areas. However, environmental activity is not just a city phenomenon. Churches in large rural centres were the most likely (compared with churches from other localities) to have contacted a government member about an environmental issue, and churches in rural service centres were most likely to have switched to GreenPower. The particularly high figure for contacting government members could be due, for example, to the high levels of concern about issues such as the Murray- Darling Basin Plan and the encroachment of mining onto farming land. In summary, the results indicate modest increases in environmental engagement among churches. Engagement varies markedly across types of activity, denominations, and locality. There is clearly scope for increased engagement, and for inspiration and support from advocates within churches and denominational structures and beyond to facilitate this to happen, if indeed the church has a genuine mission to love and care for God s creation as a vital expression of its faith accessed 9 April Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

10 Page 8 8 References Anglican Church of Australia General Synod. (2007). Protection of the Environment Canon: Anglican Church of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2011, from Australian Catholic Social Justice Council. (2002). A New Earth: The Environmental Challenge, 2002 Social Justice Sunday statement. Sydney: Australian Catholic Social Justice Council. Retrieved 24 April 2013, from Benedictus PP. XVI. (2010). If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation. Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1 January Retrieved 29 July 2011, from Castle, K. (2001) NCLS Operations Survey, computer file. Sydney:. Castle, K. (2006) NCLS Operations Survey, computer file. Sydney:. Chryssavgis, J. (undated). The Green Patriarch: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Protection of the Environment. Retrieved 9 April 2013, from Douglas, S. M. (2007). Is 'Green' Religion the Solution to the Ecological Crisis? A Case Study of Mainstream Religion in Australia. PhD thesis, Australian National University, Canberra. Ioannes Paulus PP. II. (1990). Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All of Creation. Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1 January Retrieved 29 July 2011, from John Paul II. (2001). God made man the steward of creation. General audience, Wednesday 17 January Retrieved 9 April 2013, from Kaldor, P. (1996) NCLS Operations Survey, computer file. Sydney:. National Council of Churches in Australia. (2001). Sustaining Creation: A statement of the National Council of Churches in Australia to the Governments of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2011, from Pepper, M., & John, J. (forthcoming). Ecology. In W. Emilsen (Ed.), The Uniting Church in the New Millennium. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock. Powell, R. (2011) NCLS Operations Survey, computer file. Sydney:. Sheppard, K. (2006). Pentecostalism and sustainability: Conflict or convergence? PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth. Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013

11 Page 9 The Climate Institute. (2006). Common Belief: Australia's Faith Communities on Climate Change. Sydney: The Climate Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2011, from Uniting Church in Australia Assembly. (1992). The Basis of Union. Retrieved 9 April 2013, from Williams, R. (2004). Changing The Myths We Live By, Lecture at Lambeth Palace 5 July Retrieved 29 July 2011, from 9 About is a joint project of several denominational partners. Established in the early 1990s, it is a world leader in research focused on connecting churches and their communities. The most well-known project is the five-yearly National Church Life Survey. 10 About the National Church Life Survey The National Church Life Survey (NCLS) is a quantitative survey of 260, ,000 church attenders, 6,000-10,000 church leaders and 3,000-7,000 churches in more than 20 Australian denominations (Catholic, Anglican and Protestant denominations) every census year since The survey covers a wide range of areas of religious faith and practice and social concern. The NCLS includes three major survey types: 1. Attender Surveys (comprising a main survey variant and multiple small sample survey variants); 2. Several variants of a Leader Survey which is completed by local church leaders; and 3. An Operations Survey audit of local church activities. Data are weighted to adjust for variations in participation levels across denominations and regions. Occasional Paper 20 Copyright 2013