Religion in post-disaster recovery

Författare

Monica Lindberg Falk

Summary, in English

Religion is particularly important in times of crises; it is commonly linked to the search for meaning behind disasters and it promotes a social interconnectedness. After a disaster, religious beliefs can give the survivors a sense of control. Rituals and ceremonies have proved to have healing capacities both individually and collectively. The focus of this paper is on religion in the recovery process. Theoretically, this paper aims to discuss how disasters are dealt with on a local level with emphasis on how religion interplays in the processes of resilience building. This paper gives examples of how resilience can be undermined and disrupted by actions carried out in the name of religion.

The ethnography in this paper is based on an anthropological study followed the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The study was carried out over five years in small fishing communities affected by the tsunami located mainly in Phang Nga, the worst-hit province in Thailand. It explored Buddhist and spiritual beliefs in the recovery process and studied how Thai Buddhist monks, nuns and laypeople employed Buddhism in order to cope after losing family members, friends, neigh¬bours, their homes and means of livelihood. Buddhist temples, monks and nuns were crucial as sources of refuge for many of the survivors. This paper also addresses why Buddhist temples became the hub around which everything functioned.

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