Faith in development:

What difference does faith make for Chris3an NGOs working in Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country?

Presenta(ontoDevNet2018ByJulianDoorey

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Intro… some things to consider…

• Religiousorganisa(onsaretheoldestsocialservicenetworksknowntohumankind,but…

• Underlyingtopicofreligionanddevelopmenthasbeenmostlyignoredindevelopmentliterature

• Rapprochementbetweenproponentsofseculardevelopmentandsupportersofreligious-basedsocialtransforma(oniscalledfor

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‘It’s time that religion, spirituality and faith were taken seriously as factors shaping development and around

which development can be shaped’ (Lunn, 2009)

Background, ra:onale and research ques:on

• WorkedinBangladeshCNGOdevelopment-2002-2015•  Collegialwonderings;suspicionofmo(vesandoutcomes;seculardevelopmentvsChris(anmission

•  HowdoChris(anNGOsworkinginBangladesh,aMuslimmajoritycountry,perceivethattheirfaithiden(tyinfluencestheiropera(ngcharacteris(cs,makingthemdis(nc(vefromsecularNGOs?

•  Dotheliteratureclaims(madebysome)thatFBOsmakedis9nc9vecontribu9ons,offeringmostlyadvantages(andsomedisadvantages)comparedwithsecularNGOs,applytotheBangladeshiCNGOs?

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Method

•  ‘ReligionandDevelopment’(RAD)framework• Religiouslensanddevelopmentlens• Deduc(ve-tes(ngexis(ngliteratureclaims-FBOs•  6CNGOs,Skypeinterviews,structuredques(onnaire,qualita(ve,quan(ta(ve

•  FBOliteraturesourcedfromChris(anculturalcontexts≠Muslimmajoritycountry(90%),Chris(anminority(0.3%),persecu(onandviolence

•  Security-genericblurring

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Faith iden:ty CNGOs…

• Strong,explicitandopenChris(aniden(ty• Noobfusca(ontocommuni(esorgovernment• Cri(calforCNGOs’visionandmission• Importanttotheirstakeholders• Organisa(onalprofiles

Church linkage Dis*nc*ve…

• Projectshostedbylocalchurches• Uselocalchurch’slandandfacili(es• Long-termsustainablepresence• Physicalpresenceandsocialentrypoint• Spiritualorprayersupport

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Opera:ng characteris:cs -difference

Assessingliteratureclaims(madebysome)forFBOsofadvantageanddisadvantagecomparedwithsecularNGOs…• Mo(va(onal,organisa(onalandins(tu(onaladvantageclaims(x7)• Spiritualadvantageclaims(x3)• Disadvantageclaims(x2)(James,2009;James,2011;Lunn,2009;Rakodi,2012;Tomalin,2012)

ApplytotheBangladeshiCNGOs?

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 1. Reachthepoorest?(duetosocialandphysical

infrastructure,suchaslocalchurchfacili9esbasedinthepoorestcommuni9es,throughwhichdevelopmentac9vi9esmaybeimplemented)

•  CNGOsofenhostedbylocalchurchesinremoteareas

•  WorkwithpreviouslyneglectedTribals

•  ‘Savings-basedloans’begerthanmicrocredit•  Workwith‘segled’poornottransientpoorestx

>>> CNGOsreachverypoorpeople,butdothey‘reachthepoorest’?Literatureclaimsuperla(veterm‘poorest’isproblema(c.Recommendrewordingclaimtothey‘reachtheverypoor’

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 2. Valuedbythepoorest?(duetoamixoflivingand

workinginpoorfaith-basedcommuni9esandobservablereligiousmo9va9ontoservethepublicgood,ratherthanforpersonalorpoli9calgain)

•  CNGOssaid-peoplevaluewhotheyseebenefitthem

•  Builton200yearmissionhistoryofhealth,educa(onandagriculture

•  SomeMuslimsmaypreferaChris(anfaithdevelopmentworker•  8episodic,past-tensestories-thanksforassistanceandrela(onship

>>> CNGOsvaluedbypoorpeople,ofanyreligiontheyworkwith.Literatureclaimsuperla(veterm‘poorest’isaproblem.Recommendrewordingclaimto‘valuedbythepoortheyworkwith’

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 3. Long-termsustainablepresence?(duetolinkage

withreligiousins9tu9onsembeddedinlocalcommuni9es,eg:churchesandmosques,whichgenerallylastlongerthancivil-societyorganisa9ons)

•  CNGOsleave,butlocalhostchurchescon(nuealong-termdevelopmentpresence(ofsomesort)

•  Requireschurchesmo(vatedandcapacitybuiltindevelopment•  Churchmicroscopic,verypoor,discrimina(onfromMuslimmajority

•  Cansecularfundingbuildchurchesincommunitydevelopment?>>> CNGOsbelievedhostchurchesofferlong-termdevelopment

presenceaferprojectsend.Natureandusefulness-lackedevidenceinliteratureandmyresearch

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 4. Efficientdevelopmentservices?(duetofaith

communi9essubsidisingservicesandchannellingresourcesthroughtheirexis9ngnetworks)

•  CNGOfieldstaffliveverysimplyinpoorprojectvillages

•  Projectshostedbychurchfacili(es-lowerset-upcosts•  Lowcostcommunitypartnershipandempowermentmodel-

capacitybuildingself-helpgroups

•  Denomina(onalCNGOspaylowersalaries,limi(nginequali(esacrossdenomina(onalstaff,resul(nginrapidturn-overofentry-leveldevelopmentstaffx

>>> CNGOsofferlowcost,valueformoneydevelopment.Butdenomina(onalCNGOshavecompe(ngdemands

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 5. Alterna(vetoseculardevelopmenttheory?(due

tospiritualandreligiousconceptsofvaluesandmeaning)

•  CNGOs’faithiden(tyshapestheirvision,missionandopera(ngcharacteris(cs-cross-cumngvaluesforma(on-Biblicalvalues

•  Fieldstaffliveinpoorprojectvillages-modelsJesus’incarna(on,iden(fyingwithhumanity

•  CNGOsaprioribelieveallpeoplemadeinGod’simage,fullofcrea(vepoten(al

•  BiblicalGreatCommandment(loveGodandneighbour)mo(vates>>> CNGOsrevealdifferentaspectsofBiblicalapproachtodevelopment,

alongsideconven(onalseculardevelopmentideas

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 6. Mo(vatevoluntaryservice?(inspiredbytheir

faithtoassistfellowhumanbeings)•  Regularlocalvolunteersnotprevalent-poorneedmoneytolive-

‘paidvolunteers’x•  CNGOsandforeigndonorsmo(vate1000s(insideandoutside

country)-(me,money,knowledge,skills,resourcesandfacili(es

•  Expecta(onsthatstaffhaveGodlyvoca(onalcalling•  4storiesexamplesofvolunteerism-differentpeople,ways,places

>>> CNGOsstronglymo(vatedvolunteerism,but…natureofthevolunteerism(who,what,where)neededfurtherexplora(onbeyondmyresearchfieldques(on

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Mo:va:onal, organisa:onal and ins:tu:onal advantage claims (x7) 7. Encouragecivil-societyadvocacy?(throughtheir

extensivenetworkofindividuals,congrega9onsandrelatedorganisa9ons)

•  Minimalna(onalleveladvocacy-urgentlocalpovertyallevia(onx•  Limitedadvocacyduetocultureofpatronageandcorrup(onx•  Safetyconcerns-microscopicreligiousminority-discrimina(on

fromMuslimmajority•  Local-levelrights-basedadvocacy,empowering‘rightsholders’(poor

andmarginalised)toreceivedevelopmenten(tlementsfrom‘resourceholders’(governmentandsuchlike)

>>> CNGOsminimalna(onalleveladvocacy.Publicadvocacyeasierifequality,tolerance,ruleoflaw,andpoli(calandreligiousfreedom.Local-levelrights-basedadvocacytoimproveservicesforthepoor

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Spiritual advantage claims (x3)

1. Spiritual/religiousteaching?(toassistdevelopmentoutcomes,asreligiousteachingincludesimportantdevelopmentprinciples,suchasjus9ce,compassion,forgiveness,reconcilia9onandstewardship)

2. Spiritual/religioushope,meaningandpurpose?(helpingchangevaluesandaKtudestofacilitategoodcommunitydevelopment)

3. Spiritual/religioustranscendentpower?(whichenergiseshumanspirits,andprayertoassistpar9cipant/beneficiariesanddevelopmentchange)

>>> CNGOsagreedwith1,2&3.

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Disadvantage claims (x2)

1. Isreligionpartoftheproblemfordevelopment?(anega9veforceholdingbackdevelopment-perceivedas:divisive,regressive,irrelevant,insensi9veandprosely9sing)

2. Arechurchesdifficulttoworkwithfordevelopment?(indicatedby‘interference,patronageandcontrol’and‘welfare-orienta9on,discrimina9on/favouri9smtowardsmembers,hierarchicalleadershipandorganiza9onalcultures,unprofessionalstaffing,andweakmanagementsystems’)

>>> CNGOsdisagreedwith1,agreedwith2(patronageculture)

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Conclusion •  Faithiden(ty-cri9caltoCNGOs’visionandmission-resultsinsomeperceiveddifferencescomparedwithsecularNGOs

•  Opera(ngcharacteris(cs-includedis9nc9vecontribu9ons(tovariousdegrees)inthe7mo9va9onal,organisa9onalandins9tu9onalwaysand3spiritualways,alongwithoneofthe2possibledisadvantages,claimedinliterature

•  Begerevidenceneeded-claimsaresubjec9veandpronetobias,reflec9ngtheclaimant’sposi9onality

•  Universalevalua(onmethodologyneed-assessandscoreanyNGO(secularorreligious)opera9nginanycontext

•  Un(lthen…RecommendthatFBO‘compara9veadvantage’(ordisadvantage)claims…bereframedasdis9nc9ve‘opera9ngcharacteris9cs’

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