Disasters, Religion and Medical Ethics: The Role of Faith and Culture in Disasters
Donal O'Mathuna, PhD., Senior Lecturer in Ethics, Decision-Making & Evidence, Dublin City University
The frequency of disasters is increasing. For this paper, disasters will be understood broadly to include natural disasters, complex humanitarian emergencies and epidemics. Concern about disasters has led to multiple disaster response agencies and increased attention to planning for disasters through disaster risk reduction (DRR). Much of this work and planning has focused on the need for improved scientific knowledge about disasters and technological responses to their impact. In keeping with the theme of this conference, less emphasis has been placed on how disasters impact people’s view of life and how they find meaning in the midst of disasters. On the other hand, disasters lead many to reflect on such deeper questions. As Bob White states in his book, Who is To Blame?, “Disasters pull us up sharp and make us face head-on the hard questions of life and death. For atheists and agnostics they challenge humankind’s hubris that we can control our environment – or that our cleverness can keep us from suffering. For Christians they raise the hard question of why an all-powerful, all-loving God allows such things to happen” (p. 19).
Religion has a strong impact on how all these hard questions are addressed. For this reason, issues of religion and culture become important to understand for disaster responders. This paper will highlight how this happens in two areas. One will be the ethical dilemmas resulting from how medical responders from different cultures approach medical ethics in disasters. This paper will use findings from a four-year European Union-funded project which he has been leading, making reference to a series of case studies developed to assist in the training of healthcare responders.
The second area to be examined will be the role of religion and culture in both disaster responders and the communities impacted by disasters. The role of religion and faith in motivated responders to volunteer for missions will be discussed, as well as how disaster survivors turn to religion to find meaning in the face of disasters. Disaster response teams should be aware of the contribution religious and cultural beliefs can make to the resilience of communities impacted by disasters. While this may not reduce the incidence of ethical dilemmas in disasters, awareness of these dimensions will allow these important aspects to be taken into consideration to facilitate appropriate ethical reflection and discussion.
The frequency of disasters is increasing. For this paper, disasters will be understood broadly to include natural disasters, complex humanitarian emergencies and epidemics. Concern about disasters has led to multiple disaster response agencies and increased attention to planning for disasters through disaster risk reduction (DRR). Much of this work and planning has focused on the need for improved scientific knowledge about disasters and technological responses to their impact. In keeping with the theme of this conference, less emphasis has been placed on how disasters impact people’s view of life and how they find meaning in the midst of disasters. On the other hand, disasters lead many to reflect on such deeper questions. As Bob White states in his book, Who is To Blame?, “Disasters pull us up sharp and make us face head-on the hard questions of life and death. For atheists and agnostics they challenge humankind’s hubris that we can control our environment – or that our cleverness can keep us from suffering. For Christians they raise the hard question of why an all-powerful, all-loving God allows such things to happen” (p. 19).
Religion has a strong impact on how all these hard questions are addressed. For this reason, issues of religion and culture become important to understand for disaster responders. This paper will highlight how this happens in two areas. One will be the ethical dilemmas resulting from how medical responders from different cultures approach medical ethics in disasters. This paper will use findings from a four-year European Union-funded project which he has been leading, making reference to a series of case studies developed to assist in the training of healthcare responders.
The second area to be examined will be the role of religion and culture in both disaster responders and the communities impacted by disasters. The role of religion and faith in motivated responders to volunteer for missions will be discussed, as well as how disaster survivors turn to religion to find meaning in the face of disasters. Disaster response teams should be aware of the contribution religious and cultural beliefs can make to the resilience of communities impacted by disasters. While this may not reduce the incidence of ethical dilemmas in disasters, awareness of these dimensions will allow these important aspects to be taken into consideration to facilitate appropriate ethical reflection and discussion.