RELIGION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT: A STUDY ON TWO SELECTED VILLAGES IN COASTAL BANGLADESH

Study on cultural elements to reduce vulnerability become so popular in academia. Therefore, over the past few decades, research on the understanding relationship between religion, as a cultural element, and disaster management has also gotten its popularities. Nevertheless, how different religious aspects can influence people to shape up their disaster management strategies remains untold. To address this gap, adopting a mixed-method approach of data collection this study selected two most disaster-prone areas namely, Dacope Upazila and Koyra Upazila, of Khulna District in Bangladesh to collect primary data. The findings of this study reveal that in some areas religious institutions play a significant role through disseminating disaster-related news, providing social supports immediately after a disaster, and acting as a victim support center. Similarly, religious masters as well as other religious leaders have played a leadership role to bind people together. The findings of this study also indicate that the most important role of religion in disaster management was psychological. Besides, religion increase the capacity of community management through enhancing moral responsibilities. However, the lack of coordination of these potential cultural elements remains unused in the field of disaster management. Therefore, through this study, the researcher would like to call upon policymakers' attention to integrating religious elements with other disaster risk reduction elements.