Directly experiencing disaster increases religious faith despite secularization trends

Evidence

These effects mirror what typically happens in the world when disaster strikes. In a rare study, Chris Sibley and Joseph Bulbulia compared levels of religious faith before and after a devastating earthquake that hit Christ-church, New Zealand, on February 22, 2011, killing 185 people and causing extensive damage, including to the city’s landmark Anglican Cathedral. In the rest of the country, religious devotion declined a little between 2009 and 2011, consistent with an overall secularization trend that has been observed in New Zealand over the last half-century. However, among citizens who reported being directly affected by the earthquake, in that same period, devotion increased. As they put it, “where the church spires had fallen, faith soared.” — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 616

In a rare study, Chris Sibley and Joseph Bulbulia compared levels of religious faith before and after a devastating earthquake that hit Christ-church, New Zealand, on February 22, 2011, killing 185 people and causing extensive damage, including to the city’s landmark Anglican Cathedral. In the rest of the country, religious devotion declined a little between 2009 and 2011, consistent with an overall secularization trend that has been observed in New Zealand over the last half-century. However, among citizens who reported being directly affected by the earthquake, in that same period, devotion increased. As they put it, “where the church spires had fallen, faith soared.” — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 616

Categorization

• SHARE: The ‘where the church spires had fallen, faith soared’ line is perfect for a sociology-of-religion friend testing terror management theory in field settings.
• SEED: Contrast this earthquake finding with the apostasy-inducing fumi-e ritual in Japan — one disaster deepens faith, another coerces its public renunciation; a piece on why some crises consolidate belief while others shatter it.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 616