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P. H. Havea and A. De Ramon N’Yeurt
The Relationship Between Climate Change, Science, People,
Religion, Resilience and Sustainability Communities
The authors of this chapter are writing from a ‘pastoral’ Pacific Island region worldview orientation that is premised on accepting the Bible as an authoritative document
that complements climate scientific and social (people) perspectives. The authors
argue that such a research orientation is wholly legitimate in the context of the Pacific
islands. For example, in Tonga 99% of the population are self-professed Christians
and Christianity remains the predominant worldview (Tonga Department of Statistic
& Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) 2008; Tonga Department of Statistic
2013b, 2013a; Statistic Department of Tonga 2016). The authors acknowledge that
this paradigm may differ significantly from other religions (e.g., non-Christian) and
worldview persuasions.
As a result, it is important to promote closer cooperation between scientists,
science, people and religious leaders so that climate change in the Pacific can be
more effectively addressed. To bring these three pillars together, the authors used
a principle they call the Three Cords God-knot. This is a biblical theory, and this
chapter used that Bible concept to argue that God must be factored into adaptation
and disaster management, both in Tonga and across the Pacific.
Globally, of the 7.7 billion people currently living on this planet (World Population
Review 2019), 7.41 billion (96.23%) belong to some religious denominations (Pew
Research Center 2017). Intriguingly, of the 7.41 billion people understood to have
some sort of religion, 31.2% (2.3 billion) are understood to be Christians (Pew
Research Center 2017). This means that the vast majority of the people in the world
believe in the importance of spirituality and religious dimensions in orienting and
guiding their lives and caring for the environment.
In the Pacific, using Christian principles to build resilience (climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction) and sustainable communities is highly favoured in
the sense that most of the Pacific Islanders identify as Christian (Mone 1974; Leiserowitz et al. 2015; Schuman et al. 2018; Cox et al. 2018; Handley 2019; Goldberg
et al. 2019; Luetz and Nunn 2020). For example, in Tonga because the Head of the
State is a devoted Christian, using God to guide adaptation and disaster management
by the affected communities is extremely relevant. So, using this form of three strands
model (i.e., God, State, People) scientifically, metaphorically and/or academically is
acceptable in the Tongan society as people follow the teaching of the Bible diligently.
This is argued here on the basis of scripture: “Two men (i.e., State and Church)
can resist an attack that would defeat one man alone. A rope made of three cords (e.g.,
Church, State, People) is hard to break” (The Bible Society in Australia 1988, p. 729)
(Fig. 12.1). As a result, it is against this background that this chapter brings these
three pillars together and then uses that conceptual framework to guide a reversal
of the negative climate change and disaster impacts caused by natural hazards on
people lives towards achieving a sustainability planet.
P. H. Havea and A. De Ramon N’Yeurt
The Relationship Between Climate Change, Science, People,
Religion, Resilience and Sustainability Communities
The authors of this chapter are writing from a ‘pastoral’ Pacific Island region worldview orientation that is premised on accepting the Bible as an authoritative document
that complements climate scientific and social (people) perspectives. The authors
argue that such a research orientation is wholly legitimate in the context of the Pacific
islands. For example, in Tonga 99% of the population are self-professed Christians
and Christianity remains the predominant worldview (Tonga Department of Statistic
& Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) 2008; Tonga Department of Statistic
2013b, 2013a; Statistic Department of Tonga 2016). The authors acknowledge that
this paradigm may differ significantly from other religions (e.g., non-Christian) and
worldview persuasions.
As a result, it is important to promote closer cooperation between scientists,
science, people and religious leaders so that climate change in the Pacific can be
more effectively addressed. To bring these three pillars together, the authors used
a principle they call the Three Cords God-knot. This is a biblical theory, and this
chapter used that Bible concept to argue that God must be factored into adaptation
and disaster management, both in Tonga and across the Pacific.
Globally, of the 7.7 billion people currently living on this planet (World Population
Review 2019), 7.41 billion (96.23%) belong to some religious denominations (Pew
Research Center 2017). Intriguingly, of the 7.41 billion people understood to have
some sort of religion, 31.2% (2.3 billion) are understood to be Christians (Pew
Research Center 2017). This means that the vast majority of the people in the world
believe in the importance of spirituality and religious dimensions in orienting and
guiding their lives and caring for the environment.
In the Pacific, using Christian principles to build resilience (climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction) and sustainable communities is highly favoured in
the sense that most of the Pacific Islanders identify as Christian (Mone 1974; Leiserowitz et al. 2015; Schuman et al. 2018; Cox et al. 2018; Handley 2019; Goldberg
et al. 2019; Luetz and Nunn 2020). For example, in Tonga because the Head of the
State is a devoted Christian, using God to guide adaptation and disaster management
by the affected communities is extremely relevant. So, using this form of three strands
model (i.e., God, State, People) scientifically, metaphorically and/or academically is
acceptable in the Tongan society as people follow the teaching of the Bible diligently.
This is argued here on the basis of scripture: “Two men (i.e., State and Church)
can resist an attack that would defeat one man alone. A rope made of three cords (e.g.,
Church, State, People) is hard to break” (The Bible Society in Australia 1988, p. 729)
(Fig. 12.1). As a result, it is against this background that this chapter brings these
three pillars together and then uses that conceptual framework to guide a reversal
of the negative climate change and disaster impacts caused by natural hazards on
people lives towards achieving a sustainability planet.