International Development and Local Faith Actors : Ideological and Cultural Encounters

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.

Kathryn Kraft is Senior Lecturer in International Development at the University of East London, and has served as Senior Research Advisor for Faith and Development at World Vision International. Throughout her career she has played various roles negotiating the space between the worlds of humanitarian aid, religious communities and academic research. She has facilitated various initiatives that promote the development of civil society and grassroots efforts for development and humanitarian work through strong research and learning exchange. Her research has focused on faith-based humanitarianism and collaborations between grassroots actors, intermediaries and members of the global humanitarian community.

Olivia J. Wilkinson is the Director of Research at the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI), based in DC. The JLI works directly with humanitarian and development organizations and academics to convene around discussions of research on religion and development, particularly the role of local faith actors. Olivia is a sociologist and her main research interests focus on the influence of secular and religious values in shaping humanitarian action, with her monograph on this subject to be published by Routledge, titled "Secular and Religious Dynamics in Humanitarian Response". She has a Ph.D. and Master's in humanitarian action from Trinity College Dublin and Université catholique de Louvain (Network on Humanitarian Action - NOHA) respectively and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge in Theology and Religious Studies.