The lifestyle of traditional social milieus is typically characterised by a conservative set of beliefs, often accompanied by sceptical attitudes towards innovations of any kind. Such milieus include most members of the German Catholic and Protestant faith communities. Hence, the question arises: can local churches exert influence on the spread of climate-friendly innovations? Our project examined the role of local churches in the diffusion process. In quantitative terms, results suggest that local churches might represent a potential “channel” for the diffusion of climate-friendly innovations into post-materialist and traditional milieus. Focussing on the initial diffusion processes as well as innovation pioneers and early adopters, a qualitative analysis allowed the following roles of local churches to be identified: these work as persuasive opinion leaders, actively perform bridge-building within and beyond the local community, and consider adoption of climate-friendly innovations as a basic function of safeguarding Gods creation.

E rneuerbare Energiesysteme wie beispielsweise die Photovoltaik sind in der Mitte der Gesellschaft angekommen und Deutschland ist seit Einführung des Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzes zum weltgrößten Absatzmarkt für Photovoltaik geworden.

Bundesumweltministerium und Umweltbundesamt geben seit 1996 im Zweijahresrhythmus repräsentative Bevölkerungsumfragen zum Umweltbewusstsein in Deutschland in Auftrag. Seitdem wird kontinuierlich an einer Betrachtung gearbeitet, die statt der Defizite die vorhandenen Potenziale stärker in den Blick nimmt.

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