Faith-based organisations have proliferated globally since the 1980s. The rise of the Christian right in the United States, political Islam, identity politics and public religion have grown in strength with the decline of communism and secular nationalism. Faith-based organisations are increasingly important to development, but donors have so far focused disproportionately on mainstream Christian organisations.

Research from the Centre for Development Studies at University of Wales, UK, draws attention to the political forces strengthening the role of faith-based organisations within development, and the variety of faiths from which they have emerged. Their developmental significance is undeniable, but donors need to build partnerships with a range of such organisations to fight global poverty.

The election of Ronald Reagan as President of United States (US) in 1980 was crucial to mobilising the Christian right in opposition to communism. Along with other right-of-centre leaders, Reagan promoted privatisation, market liberalisation and structural adjustment programmes in the developing world. The role of Christian organisations in advancing these programmes grew in response to increasing poverty and social exclusion.

US and Saudi aid to the Mujahidin fighting against Russian occupation in turn triggered a proliferation of Islamic organisations in the Arab world. Political parties became increasingly engaged with religion, such as the Hindu nationalist BJP in India. Religious organisations were central to many democratic transitions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Immigration also fuelled the growth of non-Christian faith-based organisations throughout Europe and North America.

The research differentiates between five types of faith-based organisation, each with unique implications for development:

• Representative organisations such as the World Council of Churches: their teachings may be at odds with current ideas in the development field, but their involvement is critical.
• Charitable or development organisations: World Vision alone had a turnover of over US$600 million in 1999; 20 percent of Egypt’s voluntary organisations are Islamic.
• Socio-political organisations: moderate Islamic organisations often challenge the state and there is great potential for their engagement with the global development policy community.
• Missionary organisations: US Evangelical and Pentecostal missions in Africa are critical to implementing United States Agency for International Development (USAID) policy.
• Illegal or terrorist organisations: some may be an obstacle to development, but others are indispensable (until 2005, Hamas had an annual expenditure of US$70 million, mostly dedicated to social services).

Donors still engage primarily with mainstream Christian organisations and fail to consider the variety of faiths and types of faith-based groups involved in development. In 2005, for example, the UK Department for International Development funded Programme Partnership Agreements with three faith-based organisations: Christian Aid, CAFOD and Progressio – all drawn from mainstream Christian churches.

Donors are advised to:

• devise strategies for engagement with a range of faith-based organisations
• engage even with those faiths and faith-based organisations whose ideas seem counter-developmental or culturally alien
• build complex partnerships involving multiple groups, as this is central to fighting poverty.

Source(s):
‘Faith Matters: Faith-based Organisations, Civil Society and International Development’, Journal of International Development, Vol.18, pages 835-848, by Gerard Clarke, 2006

Funded by: UK Department for International Development

id21 Research Highlight: 8 March 2007

Further Information:
Gerard Clarke
Centre for Development Studies
School of Environment and Society
University of Wales, Swansea
Singleton Park
Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1792 513525
Fax: +44 (0)1792 295682
Contact the contributor: g.clarke@swansea.ac.uk

University of Wales, Swansea, UK

Other related links:
'Community and faith-based groups lend a hand'

'Beyond belief: religion and family planning in Bangladesh'

Scaling up effective partnerships: A guide to working with faith-based organisations in the response to HIV and AIDS

Working from within: culturally sensitive approaches in UNFPA programming (PDF)

The impact of faith-based organisations on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation in Africa (PDF)

UNICEF: Responses by faith-based organizations to orphans and vulnerable children: preliminary study of six countries in Africa (PDF)