Faith Communities in the UK’s International Development Policies

Abstract

This chapter explores the relationship between faith communities and the UK government in relation to international development policies. Faith communities are defined as forums, councils or platforms through which people of a certain faith may engage with government departments. These include the Church of England and the Muslim Council of Britain. This analysis found that most faith communities do not have international development as their primary goal but the government engaged with them, especially in the period from 1997 to 2010. They mainly worked together on awareness raising and campaigning. In 2012, DFID published the Faith Partnership Principles showing appreciation of faith communities and a willingness to engage with them. In the period from 2015 to 2019, the cross-governmental approach to aid budget spending opened doors for faith communities such as the collaboration between the Foreign Office (FCO) and faith communities in securing freedom of religion and worship.