Religious belief and Tibetans’ response to earthquake disaster: a case study of the 2010 Ms 7.1 Yushu earthquake, Qinghai Province, China

Abstract

Based on data from a questionnaire survey about the 2010 Ms 7.1 Yushu earthquake in Qinghai Province, China, this study examines the impacts of belief in Tibetan Buddhism on Tibetans’ response to the earthquake disaster. The results reveal that (1) impacted by their belief in Tibetan Buddhism, some Tibetans attribute the cause of the earthquake to punishment from God even though some of them understand a naturalistic explanation of the earthquake. Religious attribution of the earthquake has negative effects on Tibetans’ awareness of the importance of earthquake disaster risk reduction such as learning about earthquakes and developing earthquake survival skills; their ability with regard to their behavioral response is affected, but their psychological reaction is not. (2) Tibetan Buddhist belief and Tibetan Buddhist clergy served as important resources and support to help Tibetans cope with the earthquake disaster. The degree of religiosity was found to be positively correlated with people’s willingness to seek religious support and with their self-evaluations on the importance of religious support for disaster response. The findings of this study highlight the need to carefully consider local religious beliefs when planning disaster risk reduction strategies in Tibetan communities.