ABSTRACT
This essay considers the role of chaplains and chaplaincy in disaster response. After tracing the history of chaplaincy in the United Kingdom, the essay focuses on the role of modern chaplaincy in disaster response in the UK, with particular emphases on the concept of ‘vicarious religion’ and the associated role of chaplains, and on the special challenges of chaplaincy work with children in the context of trauma. The essay continues with a survey of the differing roles of chaplains in the impact, heroic, honeymoon, disillusionment and recovery phases of trauma experience.
