New Perspectives on Faith and Development
Watch highlights from this seminar series on our Vision video pages.
Speakers include Tony Blair, Dr Rowan Williams and Edicio dela Torre.
Faith has traditionally been a blind spot in the UK policy arena. This is particularly the case in international development which has tended to be dominated by economic and political discourse. This, however, neglects the many ways in which faith can shape economic, political and social development for the better.
The developing world is steeped in religious ideas and practice. To neglect this, or to misunderstand it, is to the detriment of effective and sustainable development.
In developing countries, religion is one of the most powerful sources of identity for good and ill. Understanding these identities is critical to tackling conflict and understanding politics. Equally, the role of religion in forming attitudes and behaviour – towards the market, the status of women, corruption or sex - can be profoundly important in addressing the causes of poverty.
In countries where the state has a weak or erratic presence, people often organise essential services through faith communities: the churches are the largest health care providers in sub-Saharan Africa. But faith can also be a channel through which people become engaged as active citizens, and press for change, whether in recent Kenyan elections or the protests in Myanmar.
Yet faith communities are not NGOs in the normal sense. They are not consciously created for service delivery, health care, advocacy, or education. They are a gathered people brought together by often ancient religious traditions carried through the generations by a community of faith. They are centred on worship, usually rooted in sacred texts and have a particular spirituality and set of symbols.
The reason they are involved in health care, education, advocacy and service delivery derives from their particular spirituality and what they believe are the simple demands of justice. Their obligation to God or their founding Teacher. They bring to it a special texture, a common concern for the human dignity of the person that embraces the spiritual.
Religions know a lot about wellbeing. But a small minority are part of the problem. They do not start off with a belief in a Merciful and Compassionate God and reflect this in work for integral human development, peace and justice. As Pope Benedict points out in his recent encyclical, there are religious ideologies that completely deny the very value of development. Religion can also be the very cause of so much of the conflict and suffering – being deeply divisive and often problematic.
Yet, that should not be reason to ignore. When faith communities collaborate for justice and human development there is a double pay off: things get done and respect and understanding between them grows.
We live in a global community. The contest for scarce resources, water and oil, will be intense by mid-century. Our interdependence is manifest whether at the level of climate change or global financial markets. The daunting task of bringing 1.4 billion people out of dire poverty, feeding the 900 million who go to bed hungry every day, faces religious communities and secular humanists alike. We need the inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue that turns neighbours into friends able to work together to confront the threats to our common security
There is a need for an informed, public debate about how an understanding of development efforts can be better informed about the role of faith.
This seminar series will fill this need. Each session is designed to be an open, honest, and if necessary, critical discussion about the role that faith can play across all aspects of development.
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, Islamic Relief, World Vision and Oxfam have joined forces in recognition of the need for this debate.
Speakers include Tony Blair, Dr Rowan Williams and Edicio dela Torre.
Faith has traditionally been a blind spot in the UK policy arena. This is particularly the case in international development which has tended to be dominated by economic and political discourse. This, however, neglects the many ways in which faith can shape economic, political and social development for the better.
The developing world is steeped in religious ideas and practice. To neglect this, or to misunderstand it, is to the detriment of effective and sustainable development.
In developing countries, religion is one of the most powerful sources of identity for good and ill. Understanding these identities is critical to tackling conflict and understanding politics. Equally, the role of religion in forming attitudes and behaviour – towards the market, the status of women, corruption or sex - can be profoundly important in addressing the causes of poverty.
In countries where the state has a weak or erratic presence, people often organise essential services through faith communities: the churches are the largest health care providers in sub-Saharan Africa. But faith can also be a channel through which people become engaged as active citizens, and press for change, whether in recent Kenyan elections or the protests in Myanmar.
Yet faith communities are not NGOs in the normal sense. They are not consciously created for service delivery, health care, advocacy, or education. They are a gathered people brought together by often ancient religious traditions carried through the generations by a community of faith. They are centred on worship, usually rooted in sacred texts and have a particular spirituality and set of symbols.
The reason they are involved in health care, education, advocacy and service delivery derives from their particular spirituality and what they believe are the simple demands of justice. Their obligation to God or their founding Teacher. They bring to it a special texture, a common concern for the human dignity of the person that embraces the spiritual.
Religions know a lot about wellbeing. But a small minority are part of the problem. They do not start off with a belief in a Merciful and Compassionate God and reflect this in work for integral human development, peace and justice. As Pope Benedict points out in his recent encyclical, there are religious ideologies that completely deny the very value of development. Religion can also be the very cause of so much of the conflict and suffering – being deeply divisive and often problematic.
Yet, that should not be reason to ignore. When faith communities collaborate for justice and human development there is a double pay off: things get done and respect and understanding between them grows.
We live in a global community. The contest for scarce resources, water and oil, will be intense by mid-century. Our interdependence is manifest whether at the level of climate change or global financial markets. The daunting task of bringing 1.4 billion people out of dire poverty, feeding the 900 million who go to bed hungry every day, faces religious communities and secular humanists alike. We need the inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue that turns neighbours into friends able to work together to confront the threats to our common security
There is a need for an informed, public debate about how an understanding of development efforts can be better informed about the role of faith.
This seminar series will fill this need. Each session is designed to be an open, honest, and if necessary, critical discussion about the role that faith can play across all aspects of development.
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, Islamic Relief, World Vision and Oxfam have joined forces in recognition of the need for this debate.
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