Reorienting Religion in Times of Global Disaster

The most recent example of this phenomenon occurred when the humanitarian aids for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and Aceh was “infiltrated” by religious interests. Therein, the International Herald Tribune (IHT) reported that the Community of Antioch Church, an American Evangelical organization, was using humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka for religious purposes. Local Christian leaders criticized this as they were worried that it would trigger the anger of Buddhist hardliners (Gatra, 05/02/05).