Promoting Community Resilience through Religious Leadership in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Community resilience is the ability of communities to face and recover from challenges using their own resources. Religious leaders are active stakeholders in the social systems, and they play a critical role in promoting community resilience. During challenges faced by communities such as disasters, emergencies, conflict, and crisis, religious leaders, religious communities, and religious organizations help communities cope with them and bounce back to normalcy. Further, religious leaders could shape the way communities perceive challenges and change. This case study describes the Pillars of Resilience Project, which aimed to build the capacity of religious leaders on Community Resilience. It was possible to train 207 religious leaders from all major faiths of Sri Lanka at six locations through one-day workshops. The project culminated in the Interreligious Symposium on Community Resilience, which brought together the religious leaders for a day of discussions and sharing. This project shows us that religious leaders' capacity building could be used as a strategy in promoting community resilience. Key words: Community Resilience, Religious Leadership, Disaster Preparedness.