**Abstract**

Whether sustainability goals advance depends greatly on the human factor, or the set of beliefs, values, and attitudes held by entire populations, besides governments, authorities or boards. Recognizing the role that the human factor plays might ensure a better consideration of religious bodies or churches when trying to design more sustainable complex systems, a point frequently ignored in secular societies where the weight of religious beliefs seems to be dismissed as insignificant. Post-secular arrangements could open the door to a greater engagement from religious organizations and individuals. At the same time, it is important for churches and theological reflection to assume the sustainability aim at the centre of their interests and development. There are some exceptions, as the case of apocalyptic-driven religious forms, which are little interested in sustainability, and could expect a rather catastrophic end of times. However, most religious expressions should be more concerned about contributing to sustainable programs.

**Keywords:** social systems, culture, beliefs, values, sustainable systems, human factor, transcendence

### **1. Introduction**

The late German sociologist Niklas Luhmann asked in a book published in 1986 about what religion and theology could offer to address the ecologic crises, beyond sheer attitudes of protest and obvious statements about the need to engage for greater care of our natural environment [1]. His view was quite provoking, and it questioned which role religious institutions could play in relationship to great systems, like economy and politics. Indeed, what was at stake concerned the function of religion in advanced societies, and therefore, to what extent religious performance can involve such big issues. Many are convinced that its role is much more modest and restricted to managing uncertainties, or to reduce the excess of complexity. In fact, in Luhmann's model, religion works somewhat to reduce uncertainty, not to increase it denouncing great dangers and scaring people: the message would be rather "Be quiet, things will adjust with the help of divine providence".

Obviously, the described starting point is too reductive and ignores the great complexity affecting social system's relationships, including religion, and other elements that clearly fall upon environmental issues, like values, cultural background, or general beliefs. If we want to tackle the question about the role that religion can play

in addressing sustainability issues, then we need absolutely to broaden our vision to include more factors and to raise the complexity level, especially considering a postsecularization state in which religion does not compete with politics and other social spheres but collaborates and becomes better integrated into the social fabric.

Trying to better describe what is understood for sustainability, the present essay follows the broad model coined with the acronym ESG and amply assumed in international organisms: environmental issues; social and equality concern; and governance at organizational level. The idea is to assume a very comprehensive view that encompasses different dimensions involved in ensuring a balanced and better future for all.

In a nutshell, religion is clearly related to sustainability, and the connections are several. For instance, religious bodies are clearly affected by those trends: if our world is not sustainable, neither will be its religious institutions. This general rule finds an exception in those more inspired and motivated by apocalyptic expectations, whose interest is less to assist in sustaining our world, but rather the opposite. But the issue can be seen in a more specific way: in times of strong religious decline, what is at stake is the continuity or sheer survival of religious congregations, which appear for many – in the current conditions – as little sustainable; in fact, even if advanced societies could survive and thrive, churches would sharply decline and even disappear. However, the implication could be more constructive: some religious forms appear as 'adaptive' in the sense that they help a population to better adapt to their environmental conditions, something that has happened in the past and can be traced back, integrating well their own environment and building more resilient societies [2]. However, a look to the ample published literature offers a different view: how religious beliefs and values inform and influence attitudes toward the environment. This happens at more levels: theological or reflexive, ethical or practical, and ritual.

If sustainability needs to be seen as a broader concept, and hence not just focused on environmental issues, but as a normative idea embracing social justice or equality as well as good governance, then the application range of religion or its possible contacts and effects will increase, as the concept "integral ecology" might imply. In any case, we need to better determine how these interactions proceed, in both senses: how religion impacts in sustainable policies and at the sociocultural level; and how sustainability as a normative idea influences religious faith and practice in the current conditions and in more concerned cultures. The proposed topic can be studied at several levels. The first one is structural or systemic, since religion can be conceived and analysed as a social sub-system entertaining complex relationship with the whole system and the other sub-systems. The second is more cultural and can make good use of cultural evolution and adaptation theories as a framework, and other studies that highlight the important role that culture plays in social and personal dynamics. The third moves more to the area of personal beliefs and values, or to what can be designed as "the human factor" in sustainability, where religion surely is more salient, and as a factor that could weight strongly in the development of a more sustainable society.

The present article will review the suggested three scenarios where the mutual interactions between religion and sustainability can be better described. The ultimate aim of this short analysis is to better assess religions' possibilities and limits regarding the high priority and urgency that we recognize to programs for enforcing a sustainable future. The inspiring motive is that sustainability models suggest integration and a holistic view, where every dimension contributes to general stability and wellbeing.
