By Marie Juul Petersen, Institute for Regional and Cross-cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen
The workshop was organised by Catrine Christiansen, Institute for Anthropology, and Marie Juul Petersen, Institute for Regional and Cross-cultural Studies, both University of Copenhagen.
Participants included researchers and students from different universities as well as one NGO representative. See a complete list of participants at the back of the report.
Programme for the workshop
Session 1: Islam and social change in the Middle East
Marie Juul Petersen: Islam and social welfare organisations in Jordan
Connie Carøe Christensen: The politisation of women's rights. Foreign donors, government and the Islamic opposition in Yemen
Session 2: Christianity and social change in Africa
Rune Hjarnøe: Evangelical organizations and HIV-sensitization in Sub-Saharan Africa Louise Nygaard Rasmussen: The involvement of Catholic organizations and hospitals in AIDS programmes in Uganda
Catrine Christiansen: Church-based or faith-based? Priests and development aid in Uganda
Session 3: Student presentations and summing up Student presentations
Uffe Torm: Summing up. A practitioner's perspective Erica Bornstein: Summing up. A researcher's perspective
Session 1: Islam and social change in the Middle East
Islam and social welfare organizations in Jordan
Marie Juul Petersen, Ph.d. student, Institute of Regional and Cross-cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen
Based on data from fieldwork in Jordan in 2007 and 2009, the presentation explored the role of Islam in different social welfare organisations. The presentation portrayed four different organisations engaged in the provision of social welfare, namely the royal NGO Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development; the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic Center Charity Society; the government’s Zakat Fund; and finally the small, independent women’s organisation Anwar al Huda. Based on these portraits, the
presentation outlines a tentative typology of organisations, exploring the role of religion in activities, among staff and in relation to beneficiaries and discussing the relations between the organisations, the Muslim Brotherhood and the regime.
The politisation of women's rights? Foreign donors, government and the Islamic opposition in Yemen
Connie Carøe Christensen, Assistant Professor, University of Roskilde
In Yemen gender activism is currently widespread and thriving, supported by international donors and condoned by the Yemeni government. Paradoxically, this seems to go hand in hand with the Yemeni state increasingly considered a failing state, open for terrorist activity; thus the frailty of the Yemeni state is regarded as constituting a risk in the eyes of the international community. In the Yemeni government’s attempts to convince donors and other international actors that it is confronting terrorism with sufficient means it may at the same time find opportunity to control and subdue social and political cleavages in the country. Rather than extending rights and opportunities to all citizens, the government may jeopardize citizenship rights, such as political rights.
These circumstances – gender activism in a nation state under pressure from several sides - prompt the question of what possibilities and limitations is gender activism in Yemen currently facing. The analysis will be directed at identifying the inter-linkages between gender activism, state building and citizenship, from the perspective of social movement-theory.
Empirical approaches:
A mapping of gender activism in Yemen and of how gender activism in Yemen links with women’s activism elsewhere in the Middle East, in Europe and in the United States. This mapping will constitute the backdrop for more focused analysis of the following cases: The course of events, arguments and methods applied during the campaign and lobbyism concerning ‘Early marriages’and the building of a master programme in gender and development at Sanaa University. The current project of developing a master programme is launching the first education which explicitly focus on gender at this university and may still be regarded as controversial, but it also enjoys the support from the university and other political authorities.
Summary of discussions
The discussion turned primarily on the role of women in Islamic organisations. As pointed out by e.g. Lara Deeb in her book An Enchanted Modern, Islamic organisations become spaces for women’s activism. Secular organizations have a reputation as feminist, liberal, and anti-Islamic, and as such, many Muslim women (and their families) do not consider them as appropriate venues for participation. In Islamic organisations, on the other hand, the women can engage in socially acceptable activism.
Session 2: Christianity and social change in Africa
Evangelical organizations and HIV-sensitization in Sub-Saharan Africa Rune Hjarnøe, Sociologist of Religion
The powerful evangelization of Uganda in recent years, has put the evangelical agenda on the map of HIV-sensitization. This has been the source of much. Since religion universally has considerable potential in regulating behavior, I propose that there might be elements of ethnocentrism in the prevalent dismissal of the evangelical strategies against HIV-AIDS.
In rural areas evangelical cultural forms such as “secondary virginity” and premarital abstinence might be the only real available option slow down the disease. Evangelic churches have a high level of flexibility, and I suggest extended collaboration with evangelists in order to let them use their positive potential in appropriate areas and in order to counter the parts of their program that disseminates dangerous misconceptions about the disease.
Summary of discussions
The discussion raised the question whether religion really shapes people’s actions – if it did, the world would look different, one person argued. There is a discrepancy between what people say they do and what they do. Relying on a religious approach that preaches abstinence is not enough. People do not abstain full time, and they need tools for when they do not abstain.
Another person noted that condom campaigns and abstinence campaigns both share the problem that they focus on women’s power and choice, overlooking issues of power relations, pressure and gender role. For many women, it is difficult to stand up to male pressure and maintain a stance of abstinence. In this perspective, at least condom campaigns give women a tool. New campaigns, funded by the US, aim at challenging these power relations, trying to redefine men’s roles under the heading Be a Man.
In practice, the choice between condoms and religion is not an either-or. One person tells that many religious authorities are in fact open to accept condom use, as long as this is not talked about inside the church. Instead, they ask people to promote condom use in youth group meetings and at informal gatherings outside the church.
Debating social change in AIDS treatment and care projects in Catholic organisations in Uganda
Louise Nygaard Rasmussen, Ph.d. student, Center for Africa Studies, University of Copenhagen
Based on field work in Uganda, focusing on different projects offering AIDS treatment and support programmes in Catholic health institutions and NGOs in central and north-western Uganda, the presentation analysed debates and dilemmas around the provision of AIDS treatment and care as debates on the appropriate means of social change, and of the nature of ''development', particularly in relation to different notions of community and individual responsibility. The presentation suggested that these these debates are connected to broader discussions and disputes within 'international development' on how to foster 'sustainable' development through self-responsible communities and invidiuals.
Summary of discussions
The discussion turned on the different ways in which Christian organizations approach the work with HIV-affected people and communities. At least two discourses can be identified;
a discourse of holistic Christian care and a discourse of neoliberal capacity building. There is not necessarily a dichotomy between the two discourses; instead they can be seen as different rationalities, emphasised at different times.
The discussion also raised the question how local communities react to threats such as HIV/AIDS? In Tanzania, a person noted, some communities had a tradition of sending girls to the city for prostitution. The girls brought back money but also diseases, forcing the community to react to these threats. Witchcraft accusations make up one example of community reactions to HIV/AIDS. Such community reactions may seem cruel or irrational from an external point of view, but they are logical and rational from the point of view of communities.
Development of Church and Development by Church: Junctions and Disjunctions in Rural Uganda
Catrine Christiansen, Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen
Taking a point of departure in the recent literature that churches are 'useful' for development aid, the presentation asked in which sense development aid is 'useful' for the churches. If churches promote development are they then developing too? The development of church is certainly different from the development by church, but how, what and why? Based on examples of the Roman Catholic Church and Baptist Union in rural Uganda, it was argued that church-based aid privileges the clergy to control development projects and as clergy use the resources to strengthen their position as patrons towards the laity, church-based aid can greatly influence the development of church. The presentation raised the question of how come mission societies and 'secular' donor agencies use the same approach to churches as respectively an object or as a means of development.
Summary of discussions
The discussion focused on the relations between North American churches and African churches in a context of development cooperation. The set-up for cooperation is often based on personal rather than institutional relations, primarily because this facilities accountability and transparency. This set-up often creates a number of problems, including instability, lack of institutionalisation and a weakening of church activities. As such, while involvement in development activities may benefit the individual pastor, it is not always positive for the church.
A representative from the Danish Mission Council (DMC) noted that there are examples of other kinds of cooperation structures. In the DMC, for instance, churches request cooperation whereafter the DMC investigates how this will influence church structures, considering its professional and administrative capacities. If DMC feels that this cooperation will damage the church as a church, they will not provide funds. DMC’s approach is participatory, involving laity, youth groups, women etc. Religious authorities might still dominate the cooperation, but they are not accepted as director of the board of a
hospital for instance. DMC supports church projects, not project churches. This approach distinguishes Lutheran churches from both Catholic and Anglican. Lutheran churches establish partnerships between organisations and institutions, whereas the Catholic and Anglican churches rely more on personal relationships.
There are different models for inclusion of development projects in church structures, both presenting strengths and weaknesses. One model is to integrate development work into church structures, through e.g. an office, but the problem here is to get professional staff.
Development staff wants higher salaries than the bishop, something which can create tensions within the church. Furthermore, economic responsibility is not necessarily strengthening the spiritual authority of the clergy, but can lead to accusations of corruption and misuse of funds, undermining the unity of the church. An alternative model is to establish an independent NGO, but this can create inequalities and tensions between the church and the NGO, as the development wing grows bigger and financially stronger than the church.
Session 3: Student presentations and summing up
Student presentations
Line Kikkenborg, Aalborg University, presented her outline for a Master’s Thesis on Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a holistic development philosophy, based on fieldwork in Bhutan. GNH builds on Buddhist traditions and philosophy and is based on four pillars: socio-economic development; culture; good governance; and environment.
Included in these pillars are nine dimensions, including spirituality. In her thesis, Line will explore why GNH is important for Bhutan as a developing nation, looking at both domestic and international levels, asking whether GNH does anything for Bhutan as a symbol of the nation, and for donor relations and using theories of nation branding.
Malene Fregil, Aalborg University, presented her outline for a Master’s Thesis on volunteering. She has been in Uganda where she has done fieldwork among volunteers from Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke. In her thesis, Malene wants to explore what happens in the cultural meeting between young Danish volunteers and Ugandans, focusing on the narratives that the volunteers create of this meeting. Why do the young people become volunteers, what are the ideals behind this kind of volunteering and what happens with their ideals during their journey? Such volunteer tourism can be analysed as a kind of modern pilgrimage, a rite of passage for global citizenship.
Summing up. A practitioner’s perspective Uffe Torm, consultant in Danish Mission Council
Uffe stated that religion has an impact on development – missionary organisations have known this for two hundred years, but secular development practitioners and academics have only just started to discuss the relationship between religion and development. The first discussions of the topic emerged in the 1990s, following the introduction of concepts such as ‘culture’, ‘human development’ and ‘civil society’ into the development discourse.
In 1998, the World Bank created the World Faiths Development Dialogue and since then, a number of initiatives have followed. With 9.11., the focus on faith-based organizations
has intensified. DFID has launched a research programme on religion and development and has recently promised to double funding to faith-based organisations; the Swiss government has held several conferences on the topic; and in Holland, a knowledge center on religion and development has been established. Even Danida has started to focus on religion – in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, Danida representatives now talk to religious leaders before they start development activities.
All this focus on religion can be a little scary – religion used to be a problem, now it is suddenly the solution to all problems in development. Perhaps a more pragmatic approach would be useful. Of course, religion has been part of the problem, but that means it also needs to be part of the solution.
Where are we today in the discussion on religion and development? And what do we still have to learn?
Conclusion I: We cannot ignore religion in development – neither its positive nor its negative impact
Conclusion II: There are some aspects of religion that can have a negative impact on development. Sex is a taboo in almost every religion, making topics of reproductive health, family planning, and HIV/AIDS problematic for many religious people and organisations.
Likewise, many religions promote patriarchial structures, clashing with mainstream development ideals of gender equality. Promotion of democracy can be difficult for those organisations that do not promote democracy internally – or trust their God to be the highest authority. And finally, religions can create tensions and violence (although most conflicts described as religious are just as much social, economic, political).
Conclusion III: There are some aspects of religion that can have a positive impact on development. Religious leaders can sometimes advocate better for the poor – in less democratic countries, they often have a special status meaning that they are in a better position to speak out than secular organisations. Likewise, religious organisations often have a strong constituency, and are seen as trustworthy and credible by the local communities. Qua their religious discourse, religious organisations are often able to mobilise people and translate secular development discourses into a language that people can understand and relate to. Through diapraxis, religious organisations can contribute to conflict resolution and peacebuilding, bringing together people from different religious, cultural, ethnic groups to work together. And finally, through their focus on spiritual healing and holistic care, religious organisations can make people feel that they have something to give, that they are not only a burden.
Conclusion IV: We need to study which elements of belief and religion can work for and against promotion of development. In doing so, however, we have to remember that there is not just one religious approach – there is not even one Christian approach, one Hindu approach, one Muslim approach. We have to move away from stereotypes and look at the local contexts.
“When the white people people came, we had the land and they had the Bible. They taught us to pray, and when we opened our eyes, we had the Bible and they had the land”
(a Kenyan writer).
Summing up. A researcher’s perspective
Erica Bornstein, assistant professor at University of Wisconsin
The workshop has raised a number of important questions that merit further explorations.
To mention a few: Is faithbased development just moral development? Are faith-based organisations just less focused on material aspects? Are there differences between faithbased and secular organizations? Do religious organisations have to secularise in order to be part of mainstream development?
Perhaps the most important thing when studying religion and development is to not ghettoise religion. Religion does not operate in isolation, and our research is relevant to a wide array of fields, including globalisation and transnationalism, foreign policy, and economy. That is why some of the best literature on religion and development has not been the research focusing specifically on this relationship, but placing the topic in much broader contexts, considering religion as one of many relevant factors.
Finally, we need to ask ourselves whether it makes sense at all to talk about ‘religious’ or
‘faith-based’ organizations in development. These organisations make up such a heterogenous group, including international, national and local organisations, volunteer-organisations, professional volunteer-organisations, large and small volunteer-organisations, Northern and Southern organisations, and insisting on a common label may only contribute to an essentialisation and stereotypification of this wide variety of actors.