Audio–Visual Environment and the Religious Experiences in Green Church Buildings: A Cross–Case Study

This embedded cross–case study examined two innovative green religious buildings in the same climatic zone of Wisconsin. Both organizations used green building certification as a way to express their missions of earth stewardship. The study aimed at understanding: (1) the degree of success in expressing the mission of earth stewardship through the buildings; and (2) the relationships between the audio–visual environment and the religious experiences during Sunday worship in their main assembly rooms. The study findings suggest that both organizations succeeded in their mission delivery through their green buildings. It also indicates that the users were generally satisfied with the audio–visual environment of the assembly rooms, but significant acoustic and glare issues existed, as the buildings were designed to bring in an ample amount of daylight according to green building principles. The conflicting issues were explored through both subjective and objective assessment. Finally, while audio–visual environmental factors critically shaped three major outcome variables of overall satisfaction, adequacy for prayer, and place attachment, factors such as acoustics and window views played more significant roles than the glare issues. The study suggested various ways to solve the identified issues and to further enhance users’ worship experiences.