International Development and Local Faith Actors

International Development and Local Faith Actors

Author: Kathryn Kraft

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-03-17

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 100005327X

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This book explores the interplay and dialogue between faith communities and the humanitarian-development community. Faith and religion are key influencers of thought and practice in many communities around the world and development practitioners would not be able to change behaviours for improved health and social relations without the understanding and influence of those with authority in communities, such as religious leaders. Equally, religious leaders feel responsibilities to their communities, but do not necessarily have the technical knowledge and resources at hand to provide the information or services needed to promote the well-being of all in their scope of influence. The book demonstrates that partnerships between humanitarian-development practitioners and religious communities can be mutually beneficial exchanges, but that there are also frequently pitfalls along the way and opportunities for lessons to be learned by each party. Delving into how humanitarians and faith communities engage with one another, the book focuses on building knowledge about how they interact as peers with different yet complementary roles in community development. The authors draw on the Channels of Hope methodology, a tool which seeks to engage faith leaders in addressing social norms and enact social change, as well as other related research in the sector to demonstrate the many ways in which humanitarian and development policy makers and practitioners could achieve more systematic engagement with faith groups. This book is an important contribution to the growing body of literature on faith and development, and will be useful both to researchers, and to practitioners working with faith communities.


Book Synopsis International Development and Local Faith Actors by : Kathryn Kraft

Download or read book International Development and Local Faith Actors written by Kathryn Kraft and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the interplay and dialogue between faith communities and the humanitarian-development community. Faith and religion are key influencers of thought and practice in many communities around the world and development practitioners would not be able to change behaviours for improved health and social relations without the understanding and influence of those with authority in communities, such as religious leaders. Equally, religious leaders feel responsibilities to their communities, but do not necessarily have the technical knowledge and resources at hand to provide the information or services needed to promote the well-being of all in their scope of influence. The book demonstrates that partnerships between humanitarian-development practitioners and religious communities can be mutually beneficial exchanges, but that there are also frequently pitfalls along the way and opportunities for lessons to be learned by each party. Delving into how humanitarians and faith communities engage with one another, the book focuses on building knowledge about how they interact as peers with different yet complementary roles in community development. The authors draw on the Channels of Hope methodology, a tool which seeks to engage faith leaders in addressing social norms and enact social change, as well as other related research in the sector to demonstrate the many ways in which humanitarian and development policy makers and practitioners could achieve more systematic engagement with faith groups. This book is an important contribution to the growing body of literature on faith and development, and will be useful both to researchers, and to practitioners working with faith communities.

Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics

Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics

Author: Jeffrey Haynes

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-05-30

Total Pages: 593

ISBN-13: 1000865924

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This third edition of the successful Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics provides a definitive global survey of the interaction of religion and politics. From the United States to the Middle East, from Asia to Africa, and beyond, religion continues to be an important factor in political activity and organisation. Featuring contributions from an international team of experts, this volume examines the political aspects of the world's major religions, including crucial contemporary issues such as religion and climate change, religion and migration, and religion and war. Each chapter has been updated to reflect the latest developments and thinking in the field, and the handbook also includes new chapters on topics such as religious freedom, religion and populism, proselytizing, humanism and politics, and religious soft power. The four main themes addressed are: • World religions and politics • Religion and governance • Religion and international relations • Religion, security and development References at the end of each chapter guide the reader towards the most up-to-date information on these key topics. This book is an indispensable source of information for students, academics, and the wider public interested in the dynamic relationship between politics and religion.


Book Synopsis Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics by : Jeffrey Haynes

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics written by Jeffrey Haynes and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-05-30 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This third edition of the successful Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics provides a definitive global survey of the interaction of religion and politics. From the United States to the Middle East, from Asia to Africa, and beyond, religion continues to be an important factor in political activity and organisation. Featuring contributions from an international team of experts, this volume examines the political aspects of the world's major religions, including crucial contemporary issues such as religion and climate change, religion and migration, and religion and war. Each chapter has been updated to reflect the latest developments and thinking in the field, and the handbook also includes new chapters on topics such as religious freedom, religion and populism, proselytizing, humanism and politics, and religious soft power. The four main themes addressed are: • World religions and politics • Religion and governance • Religion and international relations • Religion, security and development References at the end of each chapter guide the reader towards the most up-to-date information on these key topics. This book is an indispensable source of information for students, academics, and the wider public interested in the dynamic relationship between politics and religion.

Religious Voices in the Politics of International Development

Religious Voices in the Politics of International Development

Author: Paul J. Nelson

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-04-15

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 3030689646

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This first study of faith-based development NGOs’ (FBOs) political roles focuses on how U.S. FBOs in international development educate and mobilize their constituencies. Most pursue cautious reformist agendas, but FBOs have sometimes played important roles in social movements. Nelson unpacks those political roles by examining the prominence of advocacy in the organizations, the issues they address and avoid, their transnational relationships, and their relationships with religious and secular social movements. The agencies that educate and mobilize U.S. constituencies most actively are associated with small Christian sects or with non-Christian minority faiths with historic commitments to activism or service. Specialized advocacy NGOs play important roles, and emerging movements on immigration and climate may represent fresh political energy. The book examines faith-based responses to the crises of climate change, COVID-19, and racial injustice, and argues that these will shape the future of religion as a moral and political force in America, and of NGOs in international development.


Book Synopsis Religious Voices in the Politics of International Development by : Paul J. Nelson

Download or read book Religious Voices in the Politics of International Development written by Paul J. Nelson and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first study of faith-based development NGOs’ (FBOs) political roles focuses on how U.S. FBOs in international development educate and mobilize their constituencies. Most pursue cautious reformist agendas, but FBOs have sometimes played important roles in social movements. Nelson unpacks those political roles by examining the prominence of advocacy in the organizations, the issues they address and avoid, their transnational relationships, and their relationships with religious and secular social movements. The agencies that educate and mobilize U.S. constituencies most actively are associated with small Christian sects or with non-Christian minority faiths with historic commitments to activism or service. Specialized advocacy NGOs play important roles, and emerging movements on immigration and climate may represent fresh political energy. The book examines faith-based responses to the crises of climate change, COVID-19, and racial injustice, and argues that these will shape the future of religion as a moral and political force in America, and of NGOs in international development.

Religious Organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

Religious Organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

Author: Carole Rakodi

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-02-05

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0429825102

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This book explores the links between religion, states, social welfare and social change in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Building on the author’s previous analysis of how religious beliefs, practices and values influence social behaviour and relationships, especially within families, this book focuses on the organisational characteristics of religions and societies. The book considers how Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist organisations working in different contexts express the religious values of charity and compassion in practical activities to improve social welfare. Drawing on extensive empirical research, the book maps the organisations involved, identifying the factors that explain their choice of activities, sources of funding and modes of organisation, and highlighting similarities and differences between the religious traditions. It considers the involvement of religious actors in school-level education, as well as in international humanitarian relief and reconstruction, and addresses the claim that religious organisations have distinctive features that give them comparative advantages. Finally, the book reviews research on the roles of religious values and organisations in resisting or promoting social change, focusing on women’s movements, especially their campaigns for changes in family law, and the quest for social and legal recognition for sexual and gender minorities. The book’s wide coverage of two subcontinents in the Global South and several important religious traditions will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of sociology, international development, religious studies, anthropology and area studies, as well as to those engaged in policy and action who are looking to improve their understanding of the complex social, cultural, political and religious contexts in which they work.


Book Synopsis Religious Organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia by : Carole Rakodi

Download or read book Religious Organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia written by Carole Rakodi and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-02-05 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the links between religion, states, social welfare and social change in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Building on the author’s previous analysis of how religious beliefs, practices and values influence social behaviour and relationships, especially within families, this book focuses on the organisational characteristics of religions and societies. The book considers how Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist organisations working in different contexts express the religious values of charity and compassion in practical activities to improve social welfare. Drawing on extensive empirical research, the book maps the organisations involved, identifying the factors that explain their choice of activities, sources of funding and modes of organisation, and highlighting similarities and differences between the religious traditions. It considers the involvement of religious actors in school-level education, as well as in international humanitarian relief and reconstruction, and addresses the claim that religious organisations have distinctive features that give them comparative advantages. Finally, the book reviews research on the roles of religious values and organisations in resisting or promoting social change, focusing on women’s movements, especially their campaigns for changes in family law, and the quest for social and legal recognition for sexual and gender minorities. The book’s wide coverage of two subcontinents in the Global South and several important religious traditions will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of sociology, international development, religious studies, anthropology and area studies, as well as to those engaged in policy and action who are looking to improve their understanding of the complex social, cultural, political and religious contexts in which they work.

Faith in Foreign Aid

Faith in Foreign Aid

Author: Susan Turner Haynes

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-07-12

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1040089488

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The United States contributes more foreign aid than any other state in the world, and it is often recognized as a leader in engaging religious organizations in aid delivery. Faith in Foreign Aid is the first book to closely examine how the relationship between religious organizations and USAID plays out in practice. Faith in Foreign Aid relies on an original dataset to trace faith-based funding patterns in US foreign aid from 2001 to 2021. The findings show that despite America’s push to engage religious organizations in aid, the total number of religious organizations it funds is relatively low, especially when compared with the number of USAID’s secular partners. These faith-based organizations (FBOs) also represent the minority of US-based development FBOs broadly. Relying on extensive original survey and interview data, the book suggests that many religious organizations are deterred from applying for public funding because they perceive the government as biased against them, or fear their religious mission might be challenged. In addition to investigating why some FBOs eschew government funds, the book also examines why some FBOs choose to partner with USAID and what this relationship can look like. Faith in Foreign Aid highlights the voices and experiences of FBOs, showing a way for more effective engagement between religious organizations and government actors. The book will be of interest to researchers across public policy, development, religion, and political science, as well as to practitioners at USAID and development organizations.


Book Synopsis Faith in Foreign Aid by : Susan Turner Haynes

Download or read book Faith in Foreign Aid written by Susan Turner Haynes and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-07-12 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States contributes more foreign aid than any other state in the world, and it is often recognized as a leader in engaging religious organizations in aid delivery. Faith in Foreign Aid is the first book to closely examine how the relationship between religious organizations and USAID plays out in practice. Faith in Foreign Aid relies on an original dataset to trace faith-based funding patterns in US foreign aid from 2001 to 2021. The findings show that despite America’s push to engage religious organizations in aid, the total number of religious organizations it funds is relatively low, especially when compared with the number of USAID’s secular partners. These faith-based organizations (FBOs) also represent the minority of US-based development FBOs broadly. Relying on extensive original survey and interview data, the book suggests that many religious organizations are deterred from applying for public funding because they perceive the government as biased against them, or fear their religious mission might be challenged. In addition to investigating why some FBOs eschew government funds, the book also examines why some FBOs choose to partner with USAID and what this relationship can look like. Faith in Foreign Aid highlights the voices and experiences of FBOs, showing a way for more effective engagement between religious organizations and government actors. The book will be of interest to researchers across public policy, development, religion, and political science, as well as to practitioners at USAID and development organizations.

On the Significance of Religion in Violence Against Women and Girls

On the Significance of Religion in Violence Against Women and Girls

Author: Elisabet le Roux

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-11-17

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 1000811425

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In this ground-breaking volume, the authors explore two sides of religion: the ways in which it contributes to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and the ways it counters it. Recognising the very real impact of religion on the lives of women and girls, it prioritises experiences and learnings from empirical research and of practitioners, and their activities at grassroots-level, to better understand the nature and root causes of VAWG. Drawing on research done in Christian and Muslim communities in various fragile settings with high religiosity, this book avoids simplistically assigning blame to any one religion, instead engaging with the commonalities of how religion and religious actors influence norms and behaviours that impact VAWG. If the sustainable development goal of ending all forms of VAWG is to be achieved, how should actors in the international development sector engage with religion and religious actors? This book unpacks the nature of religion and religious actors in relation to VAWG, with the aim of giving greater clarity on how to (and how not to) engage with this crucial issue. Combining cutting-edge research with case studies and pragmatic recommendations for academics, policymakers and practitioners, this concise and easily accessible volume helps instigate discussion and engagement with the incredibly important relationships between religion and VAWG. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.


Book Synopsis On the Significance of Religion in Violence Against Women and Girls by : Elisabet le Roux

Download or read book On the Significance of Religion in Violence Against Women and Girls written by Elisabet le Roux and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-11-17 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this ground-breaking volume, the authors explore two sides of religion: the ways in which it contributes to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and the ways it counters it. Recognising the very real impact of religion on the lives of women and girls, it prioritises experiences and learnings from empirical research and of practitioners, and their activities at grassroots-level, to better understand the nature and root causes of VAWG. Drawing on research done in Christian and Muslim communities in various fragile settings with high religiosity, this book avoids simplistically assigning blame to any one religion, instead engaging with the commonalities of how religion and religious actors influence norms and behaviours that impact VAWG. If the sustainable development goal of ending all forms of VAWG is to be achieved, how should actors in the international development sector engage with religion and religious actors? This book unpacks the nature of religion and religious actors in relation to VAWG, with the aim of giving greater clarity on how to (and how not to) engage with this crucial issue. Combining cutting-edge research with case studies and pragmatic recommendations for academics, policymakers and practitioners, this concise and easily accessible volume helps instigate discussion and engagement with the incredibly important relationships between religion and VAWG. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Religion and Gender-Based Violence

Religion and Gender-Based Violence

Author: Brenda Bartelink

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-09-15

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 100065351X

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This book takes religion as an entry point for a deeper exploration into why practices of gender-based violence continue and what possible actions might help to contribute to their eradication. International donors are committed to reducing and ending gender-related harm, particularly violence against women, but clear answers as to why harmful practices persist are often slow to emerge. Theological research struggles to find strong links, yet religion is often referred to by local people as the reason for practices such as female cutting, male circumcision, early and forced marriage, nutritional taboos and birth practices, mandatory (un)veiling, harmful spiritual practices, polygamy, gender unequal marital and inheritance rights and so-called honour crimes. This book presents empirical cases of religious, non-religious and secular actors, including local and international governmental and non-governmental agencies in the fields of development, health and equality policies. Tracing their different understandings of how religion is entangled with gender-based violence both contextually as well as historically, the book sheds light on helpful and unhelpful as well as erroneous and harmful understandings of such practices in local and global perspectives. Centralising the perspectives of women themselves, this book will be an important read for development practitioners and policy makers, as well as for researchers across religious studies, gender studies, and global development.


Book Synopsis Religion and Gender-Based Violence by : Brenda Bartelink

Download or read book Religion and Gender-Based Violence written by Brenda Bartelink and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes religion as an entry point for a deeper exploration into why practices of gender-based violence continue and what possible actions might help to contribute to their eradication. International donors are committed to reducing and ending gender-related harm, particularly violence against women, but clear answers as to why harmful practices persist are often slow to emerge. Theological research struggles to find strong links, yet religion is often referred to by local people as the reason for practices such as female cutting, male circumcision, early and forced marriage, nutritional taboos and birth practices, mandatory (un)veiling, harmful spiritual practices, polygamy, gender unequal marital and inheritance rights and so-called honour crimes. This book presents empirical cases of religious, non-religious and secular actors, including local and international governmental and non-governmental agencies in the fields of development, health and equality policies. Tracing their different understandings of how religion is entangled with gender-based violence both contextually as well as historically, the book sheds light on helpful and unhelpful as well as erroneous and harmful understandings of such practices in local and global perspectives. Centralising the perspectives of women themselves, this book will be an important read for development practitioners and policy makers, as well as for researchers across religious studies, gender studies, and global development.

The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Economic Ethics

The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Economic Ethics

Author:

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-12-26

Total Pages: 737

ISBN-13: 0192646788

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What do world and regional religions say about economic morality? The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Economic Ethics presents together for the first time the key tenets and teachings of numerous faiths on this subject. In doing so, it also compares the major religions in their positions on various social, business, and policy topics, such as consumerism, competition, ecology, and feminism. It concludes with an analytical synthesis that presents and explains the patterns that emerge from the various religions and themes explored across the Handbook's chapters. Together, these chapters underscore a symbiosis between religion and economic life as they mutually enrich each other. On the one hand, religion improves the efficiency and efficacy of economic life by lowering the frictional and monitoring costs of market operations. Virtuous market participants internalize norms of good economic conduct and behave accordingly. On the other hand, socioeconomic life offers manifold enticements, comforts, and overindulgences that paradoxically push devout adherents to invest themselves even further in their beliefs. Socioeconomic life provides an opportunity for religions to build strong faith communities and for believers to reify their religion in their economic conduct. This Handbook presents the richness, nuances, and rationale of religions and their economic ethics. Readers will discover a remarkable convergence in religions' teachings on economic morality, despite their wide differences in dogma, ecclesial structures, and social practices. This confluence can be traced to similarities in the underlying anthropologies and cosmologies of these faiths. Finally, this Handbook shows, the major faiths share far more values than divide them, at least when it comes to economic morality.


Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Economic Ethics by :

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Economic Ethics written by and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-12-26 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do world and regional religions say about economic morality? The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Economic Ethics presents together for the first time the key tenets and teachings of numerous faiths on this subject. In doing so, it also compares the major religions in their positions on various social, business, and policy topics, such as consumerism, competition, ecology, and feminism. It concludes with an analytical synthesis that presents and explains the patterns that emerge from the various religions and themes explored across the Handbook's chapters. Together, these chapters underscore a symbiosis between religion and economic life as they mutually enrich each other. On the one hand, religion improves the efficiency and efficacy of economic life by lowering the frictional and monitoring costs of market operations. Virtuous market participants internalize norms of good economic conduct and behave accordingly. On the other hand, socioeconomic life offers manifold enticements, comforts, and overindulgences that paradoxically push devout adherents to invest themselves even further in their beliefs. Socioeconomic life provides an opportunity for religions to build strong faith communities and for believers to reify their religion in their economic conduct. This Handbook presents the richness, nuances, and rationale of religions and their economic ethics. Readers will discover a remarkable convergence in religions' teachings on economic morality, despite their wide differences in dogma, ecclesial structures, and social practices. This confluence can be traced to similarities in the underlying anthropologies and cosmologies of these faiths. Finally, this Handbook shows, the major faiths share far more values than divide them, at least when it comes to economic morality.

Between Humanitarianism and Evangelism in Faith-based Organisations

Between Humanitarianism and Evangelism in Faith-based Organisations

Author: May Ngo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-04-27

Total Pages: 12

ISBN-13: 1317201450

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Religion has always played an important, if often contested, role in the public domain. This book focuses on how faith-based organisations (FBOs) interact with the public sphere, showing how faith-based actors are themselves shaped by wider processes and global forces such as globalisation, migration, foreign policy and neoliberal markets. Focusing on a case study of an FBO in Morocco which gives aid to sub-Saharan African irregular migrants, the book reveals some of the challenges the organisation faces as it tries to negotiate at once local, national and international contexts through their particular Christian values. This book contends that the contradictions, tensions and ambiguities that arise are primarily a result of the organisation having to negotiate a normative global secular liberalism which requires a strict demarcation between religion and politics, and religion and the secular. Faith-based actors, particularly within humanitarianism, have to constantly navigate this divide and in examining the question of how religious values translate into humanitarian and development practices, categories such as religion, the secular and politics and the boundaries between them will need to be interrogated. This book explores the diversity and complexity of the work of FBOs and will be of great interest to students and researchers working at the intersections of humanitarianism and development studies, politics and religion.


Book Synopsis Between Humanitarianism and Evangelism in Faith-based Organisations by : May Ngo

Download or read book Between Humanitarianism and Evangelism in Faith-based Organisations written by May Ngo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-27 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion has always played an important, if often contested, role in the public domain. This book focuses on how faith-based organisations (FBOs) interact with the public sphere, showing how faith-based actors are themselves shaped by wider processes and global forces such as globalisation, migration, foreign policy and neoliberal markets. Focusing on a case study of an FBO in Morocco which gives aid to sub-Saharan African irregular migrants, the book reveals some of the challenges the organisation faces as it tries to negotiate at once local, national and international contexts through their particular Christian values. This book contends that the contradictions, tensions and ambiguities that arise are primarily a result of the organisation having to negotiate a normative global secular liberalism which requires a strict demarcation between religion and politics, and religion and the secular. Faith-based actors, particularly within humanitarianism, have to constantly navigate this divide and in examining the question of how religious values translate into humanitarian and development practices, categories such as religion, the secular and politics and the boundaries between them will need to be interrogated. This book explores the diversity and complexity of the work of FBOs and will be of great interest to students and researchers working at the intersections of humanitarianism and development studies, politics and religion.

Interfaith Networks and Development

Interfaith Networks and Development

Author: Ezra Chitando

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-03-15

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 3030898075

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Although there is growing interest in the role of religion in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030, very few studies have focused on the contributions of interfaith networks. Most of the contemporary publications on religion and development focus on single religions or faith-based organizations. This volume addresses the lacuna in the available scholarship by undertaking detailed analyses of how interfaith networks in diverse African contexts contribute to development. Chapters in this volume engage in theoretical debates on interfaith networks and development, while describing concrete, fresh case studies on how particular interfaith networks are contributing towards the meeting of the SDGs in specific contexts. Thus, the volume describes older and newer interfaith networks and analyses their achievements and challenges. Contributors focus on SDGs that include peacebuilding, gender, youth, the environment, as well as overviews of interfaith initiatives in different African contexts.


Book Synopsis Interfaith Networks and Development by : Ezra Chitando

Download or read book Interfaith Networks and Development written by Ezra Chitando and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although there is growing interest in the role of religion in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030, very few studies have focused on the contributions of interfaith networks. Most of the contemporary publications on religion and development focus on single religions or faith-based organizations. This volume addresses the lacuna in the available scholarship by undertaking detailed analyses of how interfaith networks in diverse African contexts contribute to development. Chapters in this volume engage in theoretical debates on interfaith networks and development, while describing concrete, fresh case studies on how particular interfaith networks are contributing towards the meeting of the SDGs in specific contexts. Thus, the volume describes older and newer interfaith networks and analyses their achievements and challenges. Contributors focus on SDGs that include peacebuilding, gender, youth, the environment, as well as overviews of interfaith initiatives in different African contexts.