Religion & Development
Dear World,
I hope you are well.
Today, in one of my classes, we had a guest lecturer who talked about the role of religion in development. His presentation was about his work in El Salvador and starting a NGO. Initially, he had a negative bias towards any religious influence in development work, but then he realized that most of the locals were deeply religious. His views did not change but he realized the importance of religion in development work and that we must be respectful to each culture. It was a really interesting lecture!
I have always felt that my religion defines me and my actions. But I know it isn’t the same for everyone. So how do we approach development with or without religious agenda? Should Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) exist? Does religion have a place in development? So, I have a lot of questions which may remain unanswered for now or for a very long time, but it’s good to think about them, in order to define who you are, and what kind of development work you want to get involved with.
I know this isn’t exactly exploring in depth the issue of religion and development, but I hope it gives you something to think about 
Here are some good reads:
http://heatherramshawtravels.blogspot.ca/2012/06/having-little-faith.html
http://www.eoi.es/blogs/carloscerdan/2011/12/04/dp2-religion-and-development-are-they-compatible/
Revisiting Religion: Development Studies Thirty Years On by SEVERINE DENEULIN CAROLE RAKODI
Till we meet again,
Take care,
F.
Religion & Development. Goodness what a interesting topic you have chosen my dear friend.
I respect your honesty in saying that your religion defines you, and it is this exact point that cannot be forgotten when considering religion and development. Religion is not something a person simply subscribes to, it is something they devote their life to. Thus, if the secular development agenda is going against this way of thinking, it will not be received well by the ‘target population’.
I think successful ‘development’ is not just about considering religion, it is about incorporating it into the design and function.
(Controversial idea…? Let me know what ya think
Let’s just say, I am a daredevil!
Leave it to McGregor to stir up a controversy! Jokes apart though, I think you bring up an excellent point about incorporating religion into the design and function. See, for me incorporating religion into development is second nature, because I believe my religion provides me with a way of life. And, this is where you make a valid point, because people devote their lives to religion, so how can there be an progress or development if their religion is not a part of it?
It is always interesting to see how the importance of religion varies across borders
I really enjoyed the guest lecture. Religion has a role in development for sure! In our western societies, the role religion is not as ‘strong’ as it is in other countries that have deep faith and conviction in religion. For some, religion is part of your every day life and therefore as a ‘development practitioner’ it is important that we recognize the role of religion and approach it in a proper manner.
Well said, Adam! You’ve brought up a very good point that it is our job to identify the appropriate approach to development, because we’ll be working with such diverse communities and all over the world, that every new place will have a different way of doing things!
I have thought a lot about religion and development recently. This had to do with a) being asked whether I was doing missionary work when I said I was studying INDEV and b) choosing a placement organization in Burkina Faso.
For the first item, I was slightly offended when the things I was studying were being compared to missionary work. This was probably because the vision in my mind of missionary work was one of forced conversion and some bad approaches, and I did not want what I was studying to be compared to that.
For the second thing, this negative vision of religion in development also made me highly closed minded to working with a faith-based organization, even though I would be working in a country where faith is very important. After getting over this closed-mindedness I found that the faith-based organization offered a placement that was exactly what I wanted – something I came very close to missing out on.
After that, I decided to do more research on religion and development, and wrote a paper about faith-based organizations. This research changed my view completely. I realized that faith-based organizations can be a little controversial, but there are bad apples everywhere. In a lot of cases, if an organization has respectful intents, it can be an excellent development actor. They often have more consistent flows of funding from their faith base, they have a network already established in even the smallest communities, and religious people are often much more receptive to development initiatives if it comes from religious sources – it legitimizes development to them as opposed to a bunch of outsiders with different values telling them how to do things.
Thanks for the informative comment, Jeannette!
I like how you’ve mentioned that development initiatives are seen as legitimate development if they are from religions sources. It’ll be interesting to see how we face these hurdles in our field placements.
I believe religion does have a place in development. Religion is a type of knowledge, an education system. If given a chance to understand and explore, people can create their own conclusions, their own morals and beliefs. Religion can lead to great advancements in technology and bring communities together. Its a shame that society tends to blame the world’s destruction on religion, when in fact it is the foundation of many booming countries today.
I completely agree with you. However, it pains me when people use religion in a negative context. The media portrays it as evil as well. But the truth is that all religions promote the well-being of people and their growth. Hopefully, there will be a day when religion is not associated with such a negative context.