Joram Tarusarira

How the security risks associated with climate change, such as social instability and conflicts over dwindling resources, impact the study of religion in Africa has received limited attention from scholars of African religions, despite the need to determine how these impacts influence how religion is conceptualized. However, climate-related security risks intersect with religious beliefs and practices. This article draws on participatory methodologies and an ethnographic study of the security risks stemming from climate change in northern Mozambique. It demonstrates that the emergence of security challenges related to climate change provides religious studies with new data and, therefore, new challenges in rethinking the meaning of African religions. It also shows the significance of attributing religion to climate disasters among religious communities, exposes the epistemological assumptions and conflicts over the role of religion in social challenges, and demonstrates the transcendence of religious differences in times of widespread social crises. The article thus contributes to setting the stage for future studies that aim to understand how climate-driven vulnerabilities change the conception of and engagement with religion in Africa.

This article examines how religio-cultural values influence the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of local communities in the face of climate-change-induced security risks through a case study of vulnerable communities in northern Mozambique. These risks encompass various forms of suffering, displacement, and violence related to climatic stressors. While traditional approaches to climate change impacts often prioritize economic and technological solutions, this study argues for the inclusion of religio-cultural values in climate security discourse. Using a values-based analytical framework and ethnographic and participatory research methods, the article investigates how religio-cultural values shape community responses to climate change and related security risks in two communities in Nampula District. The research highlights that techno-scientific interventions, when not aligned with local values, can exacerbate conflicts and undermine the effectiveness of climate adaptation strategies. It further demonstrates the potential for peace and stability that can be achieved by integrating local religio-cultural values into climate policies and practices.

This study explored the significance of religion in the climate security discussion. Despite being extensively explored in conflict studies, the role of religion in climate security discourse is still largely overlooked. This is surprising, given that it significantly impacts decision-making during crises. The intersection of climate change and religious beliefs and diversity exacerbates conflicts across Africa. Recent studies have highlighted the pivotal role of religion in shaping responses to climate-induced security risks, yet it is often sidelined in climate security discourse. Through a systematic literature review, this study identifies gaps and proposes future research directions. The findings underscore the peripheral role of religion in climate security literature and the lack of interdisciplinary coherence. By recognizing the multifaceted role of religion in crises, this study aims to provide crucial insights into the complex dynamics of the religion-climate-climate security nexus.

This article explores the impact of climate-related security risks on community values and how that impact influences responses to the risks. Research and practice have paid little attention to how non-material and subjective conditions, especially values, mediate the climate-security nexus. We focused on the impact of land conflicts and food insecurity (as examples of climate-related security risks) on community values through a study of two rural communities in Zambia’s southern province using impact rating, focus-group discussions (FGD s), and interviews. Innovatively, we began by identifying community values and asking about the impact of climate security risks on community values instead of what ‘experts’ perceive or consider to be risks. We found that, firstly, participants from both communities perceived both land conflicts and food insecurity as having a strong to very strong influence on their values. Secondly, women perceive the impact of land conflicts and food insecurity on values to be greater than men do. Thirdly, the perception of the impact of climate-related security risks on values is prevalent among communities in Zambia’s southern province. The article concludes that values are crucial and central determinants in how communities interpret and respond to climate-related security risks, as well as how they engage with food, land, and water systems. It recommends that policymakers and practitioners integrate community values for effective and sustainable climate-related security risk policies and interventions.

This chapter discusses the significance of materiality in conflict analysis, healing and reconciliation. It argues that the preponderance of ideologies, ideas and beliefs, in healing and reconciliation processes obscure the significance of objects, feelings and bodily performances and experiences. Yet, they are responsible for the onset, escalation or de-escalation of violent conflict. In the context of conflict and reconciliation, violation of materiality such as the occupation of land by foreign forces, the beheading of people, breaking of limbs, the crying of children, the raping of women, the destruction of buildings and infrastructure among other things, leads to hurt, woundedness and trauma, which engenders the need for healing and reconciliation. Subsequently, just as in conflict analysis, attention needs to be paid to the significance of objects, feelings, and bodily performances in pursuing healing and reconciliation. Focusing only on ideas, ideology, belief, and metanarratives, which is the default modus operandi of states in analyzing conflicts, thus does not lead to sustainable healing and reconciliation. The pain of violent conflict is often very physical and place-based.