Faith-based Development Research Articles

Giving and Receiving: Faith and the Sustainability of Institutions Providing Microfinance Services for Development

Topic: This review explores the important issue of the ‘institutional sustainability’ (IS) of faith-based development organizations (FBDOs) providing microfinance services to the poor in the developing world. IS has often been equated with the financial self-reliance of microfinance service providers, with income from credit charged on loans as well as other fees being used to pay for the service. While the approaches and tensions inherent in the attainment of IS by microfinance providers seeking to help the poorest in society have been well explored in the literature, there has been no specific analysis of FBDO providers and the special challenges they may face. Methodology: This paper is based on a review of the literature using a combination of search terms such as ‘microfinance’, ‘development’, ‘institutional sustainability’, ‘financial self-reliance’ and ‘faith’, with a special emphasis on the literature published between the 1990s and 2023. Results: One of the main findings is that Christian and Hindu FBDOs providing microfinance largely follow the financial self-reliance conceptualization of IS applied by secular providers and apply much the same set of responses regarding the setting of interest rates and other charges and the management of repayment amongst their client base. However, FBDOs of the Islamic faith take a broader perspective on IS and include the need for spirituality and religious development amongst their clients. Future directions: This paper makes a number of suggestions for future research, including (1) the reasons why religious development and spirituality do not appear to be strong issues for Christian and Hindu FBDOs relative to their Islamic counterparts; (2) the potential for inter-faith collaboration between FBDOs and secular providers, between FBDOs of different faiths as well as FBDOs from versions of the same faith (e.g., Protestant and Catholic); and (3) whether FBDOs are more naturally predisposed and able to engage and collaborate with the informal microfinance sector than secular microfinance providers.

Tearfund and the Quest for Faith-Based Development, written by Dena Freeman

Tearfund and the Quest for Faith-Based Development, written by Dena Freeman

“This Is Where We Have Scored”: Exploring the Interface between Project and Institutional Sustainability Facilitated by a Faith-Based Development Organisation in Sierra Leone

This paper explores the issue of project sustainability through an analysis of the experiences of a Faith-Based Development Organisation (FBDO) in Bo, Sierra Leone. The FBDO in question was approached by members of their local Catholic Women Association (CWA) to help them with the planning and management of a farm that had been donated to them by a chief. They agreed to this, and a series of workshops were held in June 2014, along with follow-up discussions with local experts and businesses as to what could be done to help support the women in their endeavour. Amongst other priorities, the women identified the need for the farm to produce food, income and help with their development. However, an outbreak of the Ebola virus that occurred between 2014 and 2016, following as it did on the back of an 11-year (1991–2002) civil war in Sierra Leone, led to a re-evaluation of the farm project in the eyes of the FBDO as they decided to shift to earlier priorities in education and health care. Given the constraints regarding resources and personnel, community projects, such as the CWA farm project, became of much lesser importance even though it resonated strongly with the goals of the FBDO and government, and had garnered much support amongst international donors. The paper sets out that story, beginning with the workshops and discussions held in 2014, and the ramifications of these responses to various ‘shocks’, such as those presented by the civil war and disease outbreaks (Ebola and COVID-19); it also provides recommendations that might be of use regarding the interface between project and institutional sustainability within FBDOs and, indeed, the wider community of development organisations.

Religious Actors for Gender Equality – SDG 5: A Reflection on the Side by Side Faith Movement for Gender Justice

Abstract The article reflects on the practical experience of the Side by Side Faith Movement for Gender Justice (SbS): faith actors often play a decisive role in the formation of values, concepts and beliefs that determine how women and men see themselves and each other and how they thus practise gender equality – or not. In both cases, faith actors are key partners in the transformation of ideas and practices towards achieving gender equality – SDG 5. SbS began in 2015 in response to a gradual dominance by restrictive faith actors’ voices in the international debate on gender. Faith-based development agencies and local faith actors already involved in pro-gender-equality practice began building national chapters of SbS to mobilise, organise and strategise our work and have it reflected in international advocacy – including for a change of policy towards improved engagement with religious actors. The article presents this experience in the practical realm of “Community”, whilst the progress made in that realm can only be understood with its intimate link to the realm of “Cosmology”: it is because of what we believe as faith actors that we do what we do. Therefore, interventions for change (Agenda 2030) must be rooted in people’s values, convictions and beliefs if the change is to be sustainable.

Contesting the Dynamics of Secular Development: An Ontology of Trinitarian Well-Being as Christian Rationale for Human Well-Being

Abstract Christianity has been instrumental in fashioning the contemporary Western paradigm of humanitarian aid and development. However, as a secular agenda increasingly defines this space, the question of what difference a religious cosmology makes to Christian faith-based development organisations (FBDO s) becomes significant. While faith convictions initiated early humanitarian efforts, Christian FBDO s have arguably acquiesced to secular pragmatic rationales for their work, rather than allow theology to have explanatory and regulatory influence. In many ways, therefore, FBDO s are devoid of the influence of “faith”, or more specifically, the influence of a robust theological foundation. To address this deficit, a critique of the philosophical moorings of Western international development is mounted, with consideration given to nascent trajectories of an alternate Christian rationale and praxis. In particular, the paper argues that the ontological foundation for the dynamics of human well-being is divine well-being. Employing a Trinitarian relational ontology, the dynamic characteristic inherent to the actualisation of divine well-being is identified as a triune kenosis (self-giving). Such an ontology of divine well-being provides the context to articulate principles for actualising human well-being as a reiteration of the divine archetype. From such a perspective, the Trinitarian doctrine of God provides the pivotal foundation for a Christian cosmology necessary to articulate an alternative paradigm for sustainable development.

‘Sanskrit-Speaking’ Villages, Faith-Based Development and the Indian Census

Over three sections, the 2001 and 2011 Indian censuses are scrutinised to locate, down to the sub‑district administrative and village levels, where L1‑L3 (first to third language) Sanskrit tokens were returned during census enumeration. First, there is a theo‑political discussion of Sanskrit’s imaginative power for faith‑based development. This includes a discussion on how ‘Sanskrit‑speaking’ villages signify an ambition toward cultural renaissance. Next, Sanskrit’s national‑level enumeration is discussed. Finally, closer scrutiny is paid to the top four states (Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh). On average, more Sanskrit tokens were returned by men than women; 92% of L2‑Sanskrit tokens are linked to L1‑Hindi; most L1‑L3‑Sanskrit tokens cluster with Hindi, English, and/or the State Official Language; most Sanskrit tokens are Urban, as opposed to Rural; and most tokens are found across the Hindi Belt of north India.

How faith-based organizations perceive their role in community development: An exploratory study

ABSTRACT This paper examines the research and conceptual literature about the role of faith-based organizations in community development. For the most part, there are relatively few community development studies about faith-based community development groups. This qualitative study explores two research explorations: First, how do Christian faith-based community development organizations in Kentucky perceive and employ the concepts of solidarity and agency (capacity building) in their work. Second, how do they perceive their role in the context of a systems approach to community development as measured through the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) which includes the application of seven capitals in planning and implementation: Natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial and built capitals. While the organizations in our research initiative employ many of these major concepts we learned they do not have an explicit understanding of these approaches. This study also suggests there are also spiritual and emancipatory capitals which merit further investigation as part of a systems approach. The article includes several recommendations about strengthening the potency of faith-based community development organizations through a more explicit understanding of the concepts of solidarity and agency and the community capitals framework and potential partnerships with government and other non-governmental organizations.

‘An outward sign of an inward grace’: how African diaspora religious identities shape their understandings of and engagement in international development

ABSTRACT Mainstream development discourse and practice often marginalise the significance of ‘religion’ and ‘faith’ for international development and humanitarianism. However, recent geopolitical events have prompted attitudinal and epistemological developments, with religion and faith considered an almost obligatory agenda for development scholarship. Despite current celebrations, scant attention is paid to the paramount role of religion for faith-based development actors such as African diaspora individuals and communities. Using focus group discussions, this article examines how the religious-faith identities of UK Nigerians specifically, shape their meanings for and engagement in international development. I reveal that Nigerian remittances and non-monetary contributions and services to their heritage country are constituted within moral (and cultural) obligations, justifications and values that are distinctly ‘religious’. So too, that Nigerians largely construe international development as a demonstrable ‘practice’ of their faith-based identities. Consequently, I call for a (re)theorisation of development to subsume transnational Afro-religious diasporic performativity. While focused on Nigerians, these findings are nonetheless relevant for wider UK-based African diaspora.

What Can Faith-Based Forms of Violent Conflict Prevention Teach Us About Liberal Peace?

Faith-based actors are often recognised as contributors to both conflict and peace. However, their work to prevent violent conflict, rather than bring an end to or recover from it, is largely unexplored. This is despite the growth of conflict prevention as a global social norm and field of practice. Based on collaborative research with faith groups and organisations in Nigeria, the Solomon Islands and Zanzibar (Tanzania), this paper examines faith-based forms of violent conflict prevention. It argues that faith-based approaches exist on a spectrum, from instinctive and ad hoc initiatives run by individuals and local places of worship to large-scale, systematised interventions led by global faith-based development organisations. Yet, while faith-based approaches to violent conflict prevention vary in form and function, they are consistent and distinctive in their emphasis on building resilient relationships at the local level, modelling forms of prevention embedded within local culture and that recognise the emotional and spiritual dimensions of transformative change. Faith-based approaches offer insights valuable to the wider conflict prevention field, which is increasingly critiqued for its liberal underpinnings and emphasis on technical and technological solutionism. Lessons emerge for others implementing prevention programmes, who could adapt elements of the unhurried, values-led, relationally sensitive approach demonstrated by some faith-based actors, albeit within their own structural limitations. Policymakers should support such adaptations and expand their view of prevention to explicitly include faith-based forms of activity, as to do otherwise risks missing opportunities and reproducing existing failures.

How Should Health Care Organizations and Communities Work Together to Improve Neighborhood Conditions?

In the past few decades, scholars have begun to establish ethical principles for public health engagement. A key tension has been how to reconcile public health improvement with local autonomy in decision making so as to express respect for community members' on-the-ground experience. This article describes the experience of one children's hospital in learning to ethically engage a surrounding community in conversations about housing development in partnership with a local faith-based development organization.

Comparing the Prevalence and Organizational Distinctiveness of Faith-Based and Secular Development NGOs in Canada

Faith-based development organizations (FBOs) have been argued to deliver more cost-efficient development projects than their secular counterparts through exclusive access to faith networks, which provide predictable decentralized funding, the recruitment of volunteers, low employee salaries, and less overhead and indirect costs. To date, however, comparative analyses of religious and secular organizations have relied on a case-by-case approach, limiting the generalizability of findings. This study addresses this methodological gap by analyzing Registered Charity Information Return filings and organizational websites of 844 Canadian development NGOs to determine the proportion of FBOs and their organizational distinctiveness. The results show that FBOs comprise 40% of the Canadian NGO sector in terms of the number of organizations and their expenditures in developing countries, and are significantly less reliant on federal funding (p < .1), pay employees lower salaries (p < .01), but do not exhibit a significant difference in their expenditures on overhead and indirect costs. Thus, Canadian FBOs participation in faith networks shapes their organizational modus operandi but does not result in a low overhead alternative to secular NGOs.

Revisiting Christian Missionaries in the Straits Settlements: Blurring the Boundaries between Empire, Mission and Development

This article takes two exemplars of Christian missionaries in early colonial Singapore, Penang and Melaka—the London Missionary Society (LMS) (from 1815) and the Infant Jesus Sisters (IJS) (from 1854)—to examine the complex entanglements of missionaries and empire. I argue that they had a wider impact than evangelism and can be usefully conceptualized as faith-based development organizations. The LMS operated the first printing presses in the region and whilst its purpose was evangelical, its translations, technical innovations and printing activities extended its impact. The IJS established schools for girls, an orphanage and a women’s refuge, operating as a faith-based organization focused on the education of girls, reduction in child mortality and the empowerment of women. By viewing these early missionaries within a broader context and through the lens of development, their roles as nascent development organizations become more visible.

Faith-based development of World Vision Tanzania

ABSTRACTThis article examines how faith is intertwined in conceptions of development in the work of World Vision Tanzania, a faith-based organisation focusing on child welfare. Issues that are explored include the question how an apparently common faith setting constitutes and provides a source of social meanings and values for the assessment of human development as well as secular development concepts such as human agency and empowerment. The analysis shows how World Vision staff assign different values to Christian and non-Christian development when assessing the potential and achievements of the beneficiaries in terms of secular concepts. It is argued that a faith-based worldview in this context provides the foundation for the specific set of values and social meanings, which are examined in this article, and a source for these more generally when value judgements and assessments of agency, empowerment, freedom, and, ultimately, well-being are made. It is further suggested that, by employing ideas of freedom, agency, and empowerment and investing them with Christian meaning, World Vision is able to generate a portrait of itself and its beneficiaries that is positioned in a hierarchy of values where Christian ideals and secular development fuse and become paramount.

Book Review: Faith-Based Development: How Christian Organizations Can Make a Difference

Book Review: Faith-Based Development: How Christian Organizations Can Make a Difference

Christian Aid and LGBTI rights: breaking the silence

ABSTRACTIn recent years Christian Aid has begun to explicitly recognise and respond to discrimination faced by LGBTI people globally. A catalyst for this shift was the re-criminalisation of homosexuality in Uganda, Nigeria, and India in 2014, as well as partner reports of rising violence towards LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, breaking the silence on LGBTI issues within the organisation came predominantly through the emergence of an informal staff sexuality network. This article offers a critique of Christian Aid’s journey from being initially hesitant to engage with issues of LGBTI discrimination to recognising that as a faith-based development agency it can no longer remain silent. Taking such steps, however, has not been without challenges or risks.

The Giver and the Receiver: Exploring Power in Faith-Based Development Partnership

ABSTRACTPartnership is a contested, yet much-lauded, concept in faith-based international development. In partnering to deliver development projects, organisations such as CAFOD and Christian Aid work by funding smaller organisations to deliver long-term development projects in-country. Using ethnographic methods, this article examines the nature of partnership within one particular faith-based international development organisation, Christian Aid. By engaging with the perspective of the ‘giver’ in Christian Aid’s partnerships, this article uncovers an aspiration towards equality, but concludes that partnerships often devolve to the transfer of funds and to the entrenched roles of giver and receiver which result. It is suggested that shared biblical reflection could be a means of breaking down this pattern. As this investigation engages with only one perspective within the partnership paradigm — that of the giver, rather than the receiver — a second study is planned in order to provide a balanced examination of both perspectives.

“There’s some colonial in my postcolonial”: Community Development Workers’ Perspectives on Faith-based Service Learning in a Guatemalan Context

Faith-based relief and development organization Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has been involved in the country of Guatemala since 1976 when they responded to relief needs in light of the devastating earthquake at the time. Since then MCC has invested in a number of communities throughout Guatemala in various capacities, one of which has been the development of service and learning opportunities aimed at exposing and connecting students/participants in the global north with the people and issues within the global south. As researchers of service learning, who are also committed to a faith tradition and have participated in or have been in relationship with MCC in some capacity, we are interested in evaluating how their faith tradition has helped to both construct their practice as well as critique it. One of the aims of our research is to collaborate with MCC practitioners in assessing and examining their current practice of service/learning in Guatemala in an effort to discover ways in which they are creating opportunities for positive societal change – both in the lives of the student/ participants and the communities in Guatemala, while critiquing the traditional colonial and neocolonial approaches to development.

Book Review: Faith-Based Development: How Christian Organizations Can Make a Difference

Book Review: Faith-Based Development: How Christian Organizations Can Make a Difference

Faith-based development: how Christian organizations can make a difference, by Bob Mitchell, Foreword by Bryant L Myers, Orbis Books. 2017

Book review of Faith-Based Development: How Christian Organizations can make a difference, by Bob Mitchell, Foreword by Bryant L Myers, Orbis Books. 2017

Proclaiming the reign of God in a suffering world: The movement from development to liberation

Today’s missionary, whether long-term or short-term, church-based or part of a faith-based NGO, is faced with grinding poverty and the extreme isolation and marginalization of vulnerable populations. This article will develop a theological foundation that calls missionaries to address the root causes of poverty as a key element of proclaiming the Good News, and will conclude with specific and concrete recommendations for doing so. The article places liberation theology in dialogue with Catholic Social Teaching and with the experiences of faith-based development agencies. Particular attention is given to the work of Gustavo Gutiérrez and Pope Paul VI’s document, Populorum Progressio. The article will illustrate the ways that liberation theology has challenged Catholic Social Teaching in its thinking about how to respond to economic marginalization, insisting that charitable aid is insufficient and highlighting the difference between “development” and “liberation.”