Abstract

SCHUMAN, Simone; DOKKEN, Jon-Vegard; VAN NIEKERK, Dewald  and  LOUBSER, Ruth A.. Religious beliefs and climate change adaptation: A study of three rural South African communities. Jàmbá [online]. 2018, vol.10, n.1, pp.1-12. ISSN 1996-1421.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v10i1.509.

This article argues that religious beliefs significantly influence a community's understanding and experience of climate change adaptation, indicating the need for an inclusion of such information in climate change adaptation education. Data were collected using the Q-method, whereby recurring statements were identified from semi-structured interviews with participants from three rural communities in the North-West province of South Africa: Ikageng, Ventersdorp and Jouberton. The research found that community members who regard themselves as religious (overall of the Christian faith) fall under two groups: the religious determinists or fatalists, who see climate as a natural process that is governed by God, and religious participants who deny this 'naturalness' and acknowledge humans' impact on the climate.

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