The University of Lucerne hosted The Greening of Religion and Spirituality: Exploring Beliefs, Practices, and Organisations in Times of Environmental Change, bringing together scholars from Europe and beyond to examine how religious communities are responding to environmental change. The conference was organised by the research team of the UiO hosted SNSF research project “What are the greening dynamics of religion?” and was a collaboration between the Theological Faculty at the University of Oslo and the Centre for Religion, Economy, and Politics (ZRWP) at the University of Lucerne.
I arrived in Lucerne shortly before summer and joined the organizing team with Jens Koehrsen, Maja Kofod Jensen and Anastas Odermatt. Marita Furehaug, from the Faculty of Theology of the University of Oslo also presented her work in the conference.
The weather was exceptionally warm, but the lake and rivers provided a welcome escape from the heat. In a way, the setting was perfect: we were discussing climate and environmental change while surrounded by water, mountains and a city where nature and urban life meet.
What does it mean for religion to “go green”?
The conference explored a growing question in the study of religion: can religious communities become important agents of environmental change?
The research project What are the Greening Dynamics of Religion? presented findings from Switzerland and challenged the idea that environmental change simply moves from religious leaders down to congregations and individual members. Instead, the research examined three levels: umbrella organizations, congregations and individual members.
The project drew on extensive research conducted between 2020 and 2025, including interviews with congregations and umbrella organizations and surveys of congregations and individual members. It included Reformed and Catholic churches, Evangelical Free Churches and Muslim organizations.
Greening was understood in three ways: making organizations more environmentally sustainable, spreading pro-environmental values and behaviours, and campaigning for environmental policies. The findings suggested that greening does not follow a simple top-down path. Individual environmental concern, social expectations and people's sense that their actions matter all play a role. Congregations are influenced by their members, organizational resources and their understanding of their public role, while umbrella organizations face challenges created by theological and political differences and the autonomy of congregations.
The message was clear: religious greening is not simply something leaders announce. It is something communities negotiate and develop at different levels.
Four perspectives and many countries
The conference was organized around four themes: leadership in sustainability transitions, sacred spaces and greening, continuity and change in religious environmental frameworks, and sustainability and eco-spirituality.
The international range of presentations was equally important. Experiences from Egypt, Botswana, Nigeria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, India, Peru and the United States showed that religious responses to environmental change differ considerably across contexts.
There is therefore no single recipe for religious environmentalism. History, politics, organizational structures and local communities all influence how religious groups respond to ecological challenges.
When climate change becomes religious
One of the conference highlights was Professor Robin Veldman's keynote, False Prophets and Climate Cults: How Climate Change Becomes Religiously Meaningful to Grassroots Conservatives in the US.
Veldman examined an often overlooked side of the relationship between religion and climate change: religious identities that are mobilized against environmental action. Drawing on research in Texas and Michigan, she showed how conservative media can become meaningful within the lives of grassroots activists and contribute to political and religious mobilization against climate protection.
Her presentation encouraged researchers to look beyond religious movements that support environmentalism. To understand religion and climate change fully, we must also study forms of religiosity associated with climate skepticism and resistance to environmental policies.
From research to practice
The practitioner session brought three representatives from religious and environmental organizations into conversation with the scholars. They shared practical experiences of working with the greening of religion and spirituality and discussed the challenges they encounter.
This was an important reminder that research ultimately has to connect with real communities. Ideas about sustainability become meaningful when they are translated into congregations, organizations and everyday practices.
The conference also looked beyond the three days in Lucerne. A future collaborations session gave participants an opportunity to present ideas for joint papers, workshops, research projects, networks and funding initiatives.
Lucerne beyond the conference room
A conference in Lucerne could hardly take place entirely indoors. Participants also enjoyed a city tour and boat tour, visiting historical sites and experiencing the city from the lake.
These informal moments were more than pleasant breaks. Conversations continued while walking through the city, sharing meals and travelling together. Often, these are the moments when academic relationships become friendships and future collaborations begin.
Leaving with more questions
The Lucerne conference did not give us one simple answer to how religion responds to environmental change. Instead, it gave us better questions.
Can religious organizations become effective agents of sustainability? Does greening begin with leaders, congregations or individuals? How do sacred spaces shape environmental attitudes? And how should we understand religious identities that support environmental action alongside those that resist it?
Perhaps that is what made the conference so valuable. It brought together different disciplines, countries, religious traditions and practical experiences without pretending that the relationship between religion and the environment is simple.
As we left Lucerne, the lake was still shining, the mountains still stood beyond the city, and boats continued to cross the water. But after three days of discussion, the landscape seemed to say something more.
We had come to Lucerne to ask how religion might change in a changing environment. We left wondering how deeply that changing environment might change us.
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Photos by Anastas Odermatt and Anna Marielle Bacigalupo