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Religion in post-disaster recovery

Lindberg Falk, Monica LU (2015) NEEDS - The First Northern European Conference on Emergency and Disaster Studies
Abstract
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... (More)
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. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
keywords
anthropology, Thailand, Buddhism, resilience, religion, Disaster, recovery
conference name
NEEDS - The First Northern European Conference on Emergency and Disaster Studies
conference location
Copenhagen, Denmark
conference dates
2015-12-09 - 2015-12-11
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c8d9bd03-90da-475a-be60-1e74108c40c8 (old id 8837584)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 14:31:52
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:20:51
@misc{c8d9bd03-90da-475a-be60-1e74108c40c8,
  abstract     = {{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.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
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.}},
  author       = {{Lindberg Falk, Monica}},
  keywords     = {{anthropology; Thailand; Buddhism; resilience; religion; Disaster; recovery}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Religion in post-disaster recovery}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}