Religion and Natural Disaster Recovery On January 12th, 2010, an earthquake measuring over seven points on the Richter scale shook Haiti thrusting the Haitian people into the international spotlight. Hundreds of thousands died and many more lost their homes in this brief moment of time. Yet the surviving people stayed local, rebuilt their community, and faced another day. The resilience of the surviving people of Haiti aided in the recovery of the country from the disaster. “Members…had expressed a great deal of “faith” in “God,” and had stressed the importance of faith and spirituality in their ability to continue to live day by day” (Rahill et al. (n.d.)). Haitian community leaders attributed much of the success of their people to their …show more content…
Post-disaster can be a time of much trauma and mourning. Tatsushi Hirono and Michelle Emery Blake, professors at Austin Peay State University believe that religious clergies can relieve some of this trauma. They state that “Clergies are essential for natural disaster relief because they are often the initial contact, and through their roles of listeners and voices of hope, they can become “gatekeepers” in preventing natural-disaster-related PTSD” (Hirono & Blake, 2017). Religion and spirituality offer individuals hope in times of disaster. Natural disasters can be an incredibly traumatizing part of the affected’s lives. Religious clergies can play a role in reducing this trauma by offering support from congregation and faith in the affected’s God. Similar to their help in reducing natural disaster related PTSD, clergy can also reduce the trauma caused by war. “Ofra Ayalon’s 1998 study of children traumatized by war found that religious rituals can act therapeutically in recovery and resilience” (Ager et al., 2015). Prayer and other religious rituals can be therapeutic to many people who feel comfort in knowing they always have someone to talk to in God. This reduces the stress and anxiety caused by