The pursuit of a sustainable energy culture at Taplow Court : A space of faith where British heritage and Japanese Buddhism coincide

Sammanfattning: As efforts to decarbonise energy systems have failed, attention turns to addressing disproportionate energy consumption through behavioural adjustments. Given the influence of religion on worldviews and behaviour, this thesis inductively and intimately examines the energy-related practises of the UK headquarters of the Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International. In its ethnographic approach, this thesis mobilises the Energy Cultures Framework and Gough's three stages of decarbonisation. The findings show that Taplow Court's energy culture emphasises production and efficiency, driven by energy prices and value creation paradigms. The study highlights the inhibitors of transitioning towards a sufficient energy culture created by tensions between the British culture of division and the Buddhist tradition of unity. The research demonstrates the influence of shared identities on behaviour in spaces of faith and the openness of these spaces to learn from and engage with external actors. The thesis advocates for participatory and ethnographic processes to understand the complex dynamics underlying energy consumption in spaces of faith and the diffusion of norms to other environments.