Religion as an integral part of determining and reducing Climate Change and Disaster Risk: An agenda for research

Abstract

Following decades of research, the dynamics and causes of natural hazards have increasingly well-understood scientific explanations. Techniques for monitoring, assessing and understanding natural hazards – including floods, droughts, earthquakes, and storms of all types – have emerged from scientific research, offering extensive scientific insights into the causes of these hazards. Simultaneously, the understanding that physical and socioeconomic vulnerability to hazards plays a more important role in determining the experienced impact than do the hazards themselves is becoming established wisdom (Wisner/Blaikie/Cannon et al. 2004). Despite this, many societies worldwide continue to believe strongly in a divine explanation for natural hazards and their consequences, reflecting attempts in earlier civilisations to explain the “inexplicable”. Historically, disaster events have been characterised as a threat resulting from transgression of moral codes (Fountain/Kindon/Murray 2004). These explanations have cultural significance, with disaster events and explanations playing a role in defining societies’ social and cultural heritage by featuring in folklore, traditional music and festivals, but they can also be detrimental to the well-being of many poor people because they circumvent arguments about causes of risk and approaches to its reduction. Although perceptions are a vital focus of studies on hazards and disasters (Gaillard 2007), belief systems including religion rarely feature in discussions about reducing risk. This often-forgotten aspect could have fundamental implications for how successful societies are at reducing risk from natural hazards, including climate change, because of the differential ways in which belief systems influence attitudes and behaviour (Chester 2005), and ultimately vulnerability to hazards.