The role of religious beliefs and practices in disaster

Abstract

Purpose Over the last few years, there has been an increase of research interest on the role of religion in disaster. While some emphasize the positive role of religions during and after disasters, others rather point out that religion may lead to low perception of risk and create a fatalistic attitude in the face of such events. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the vivid debate on the role of religious beliefs and practices in disaster response and recovery, using the earthquake that hit Padang city in Indonesia in 2009. Design/methodology/approach A review of reports and policy documents published by the government and non-government organizations was done to understand external aid provided during and after the 2009 earthquake. Fieldwork was conducted from April to May 2016 in Padang city. Interviews were done with religious followers and leaders of the Muslim community, as the main religion in the country, and Confucians community, as the biggest minority in the area. Findings Drawing on interviews done with religious followers and leaders, the study highlights that religious beliefs and practices bond local people together and contributed to successful coping with disasters. It also emphasizes that religious communities can fill response and recovery gaps, such as when external intervention is limited. Practical implications Religious beliefs and practices, combined with other mechanisms, should be integrated within disaster risk reduction disaster management and activities as this would help build more resilient communities. Originality/value Indonesia is a country where religion is very important, being the biggest Muslim country worldwide. It is also highly vulnerable to natural-hazards related disasters. Yet, little research has been done in Indonesia on the role of religion during and after disasters. This paper aims to explore the role of religious beliefs and practices in disasters in the area where religion plays an important role in people’s everyday life.

Earthquake preparedness among religious minority groups: The case of the Jewish ultra-orthodox society in Israel

“…disaster recovery. Religion provides spiritual support and enhances communal bonds, on both the emotional and the practical level, functions which are crucial when external resources are limited (Sun et al, 2019;Sun et al, 2018; 510 Gianisa and Le De, 2018). In line with the above statements, many of our interviewees predicted a relatively successful recovery in the ultra-orthodox sector following an earthquake.…”

“…For example, in cultures where fatalistic attitudes prevail, critical thinking should be emphasized in the educational frameworks (Baytiyeh and Naja, 2014;Yari et al, 2019). Moreover, authorities that work on risk reduction should collaborate with the primary religiously-affiliated community organizations, which often have a strong effect on all areas of life in a religious society (Baytiyeh, 2017;Gianisa and Le De, 2018).…”

Is the Indonesian disaster response budget correlated with disaster risk?

“…The policy and DRR concept should be adopted and budgeted by other departments in local governments. In addition, the involvement of community leaders and community participation in DM planning is imperative (Gianisa & Le De 2018). Such an integrative mechanism is necessary to ensure that all preventive efforts can be undertaken.…”

Nurses’ perception about posttraumatic growth (PTG) after natural disasters

“…They prayed together and felt thankful that they are still alive. Other studies highlight that religion and spirituality can improve one's ability to cope with crisis [25,26,29]. Praying to God is believed to bring peace to disaster survivors and help them go through all difficulties [30].…”