Theodicy of Suffering and Disaster Commemoration: Collective and Individual Religious Responses to the Tsunami in Aceh

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  • FUKUDA Yu
    東北大学東北アジア研究センター助教

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Other Title
  • 苦難の神義論と災禍をめぐる記念式典―アチェの津波にかんする集団と個人の宗教的意味づけ―
  • クナン ノ シンギロン ト サイカ オ メグル キネン シキテン : アチェ ノ ツナミ ニ カンスル シュウダン ト コジン ノ シュウキョウテキ イミズケ

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Abstract

<p>This article aims to reconsider Weber’s concept of the theodicy of suffering as a sociological tool to analyze complicated ways of dealing with the experience of social and personal suffering. In particular, it focuses on the religious rationalization in Islam of the catastrophe expressed during the commemorative practices for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The paper mainly draws on data gathered during participatory observations at the eleventh public memorial ceremony of the tsunami in the province of Aceh (2015) as well as interviews carried out in the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.</p><p>First, the paper points out how Islamic culture imbues itself in the commemoration of the tsunami, giving particular attention to the centrality of Islam within the historical identity of Aceh. Second, the paper examines the religious discourses embedded within the ceremony, implying that “hikmah” (divine wisdom) was behind the disaster. This particular understanding of catastrophe makes the tsunami a “trial” for the Acehnese people, with the victims referred to as “martyrs.” Third, the paper highlights social norms in daily life in Aceh that underpin a theological rationalization of suffering.</p>

Journal

  • Religion and Society

    Religion and Society 24 (0), 65-80, 2018-06-09

    The Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society

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