A field perspective on sustainability transitions: The case of religious organizations

• Published in: Environmental innovation and societal transitions 2021-09, Vol.40, p.408-420
• Main Authors: Koehrsen, Jens, Huber, Fabian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Field theory; Power; Religion; Scales; Sustainability
• ISSN: 2210-4224; 2210-4232
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eist.2021.09.005

•forwards a field theory on sustainability transitions.•explains transition activities through power positions and institutional field logics.•explores how religious organizations contribute to sustainability transitions.•compares organizations from different faith backgrounds and scales.•shows differences between local and supra-local scales. This article proposes the field perspective as an approach to explain organizational activities in sustainability transitions. It applies this framework to analyze environmental activities of religious organizations in Germany and Switzerland. Religious organizations can become important actors in transitions by drawing on their extensive membership, material resources, and public visibility. However, to date, research is dearth about the conditions that facilitate transition activities of religious organizations. The empirical insights of this study show differences in the activities (a) between religious incumbents and challengers and (b) between the supra-local and local scale. The field perspective allows for explaining these differences as outcomes of the organizations’ power positions and diverging institutional logics on the supra-local and local scale. Rather than religious beliefs, the interplay of power and scale-specific logics shapes activities of religious organizations.