2.1 (Deneulin & Bano 2009) Religion in Developmental Studies

Domains

FMF CP

FMF! It’s cecil pascual

Religion forms values that are instrumental to development.

• (Max Weber) Protestant Ethic & Spirit of Capitalism

• (Arthur Lewis) Theory of Economic Growth

(Max Weber) Protestant Ethic & Spirit of Capitalism

Calvinist beliefs drove capitalist expansion

(Arthur Lewis) Theory of Economic Growth

• Religious attitudes influenced by wealth accumulation, thrift, and work

• Can permit or condemn certain activities

Religion forms a moral basis for what counts as legitimate development

• (Wilber & Jameson) World Development

• Case 1: 1979 Iranian Revolution

• Case 2: Islam tradition under microfinance that denies interest

• (Streeten et al) Basic Needs Approach

(Wilber & Jameson) World Development

1. Religion does not merely provide mtrl needs but provides a sense of purpose, system, and work

2. Religion provides Moral Framework: Provides norms and criteria to evaluate how legit, valid, and desirable the development process is

Case Studies in World Development

• Buddhist Values: Analysis of how Buddhist principles impact attitudes toward population growth, education, and trade.

• Muslim Communities in Senegal: Econometric and sociological studies on religious attitudes among Muslim men in Dakar as they experience economic mobility

• Shia Worldview in Iran: Historical examination of Shia doctrine influencing social and political change.

• Christian Base Communities in Latin America: Studies on how grassroots Christian groups demanded political participation and social justice

Case 1: 1979 Iranian Revolution

• Rapid modernization perceived by the Shah as out of touch to Islamic values

Basic Needs Approach

(Streeten et al)

• Religious values are a basic need that also need to be met

• Affirms development as provision of basic human needs, even non-material ones, such as ‘a sense of purpose in life and work’ and ‘self-determination’ which have no secular counterparts

• Meeting religious values, therefore, must be considered a need

Major-Religion Development Linkages IMPT

Need to be considered to fulfill religion as a basic need and moral basis

Individual Behavior

Moral Basis & Resistance

Positive Impulse for Reform

Transnational Political Forces

Religious freedom and worship is a fundamental human right

• Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

• (UNDP) 2004 Human Development Report

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

• Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Right to believe or not.

• Development defined beyond economic growth and goods. INstead, it concerns the legal dimensions, freedom from discrimination and expansion of rights

• Established that no one should suffer from marginalization bc of religous affiliation

(UNDP) 2004 Human Development Report

• Basic human development capabilities (like a girl’s right to education) must always take precedence over religious claims

• Key Tensions: Right to education, death penalty, banning symbols in France

• Competing rights and freedoms must be dealt with through

  • Democratic procedure (settlement & negotiation) to determine which rights prevail

Religion is a constitutive part of wellbeing

(World Bank) Voices of the Poor 2000

(World Bank) Voices of the Poor 2000

• Top-down practitioners fail to see past economic growth—-on what is considered true development

• Finding comfort and meaning is just as important

• Poor people trust religious leaders and FBOs more than politicians

• Religion is considered as basic of a need as wealth, education, shelter and security

Religion is a political force

• Religion shapes society’s economic, social, and political structures

• (UNDP) Freedom of well-being and agency

• (Sen) Development as Freedom

• (Ottaway) FBO’s Spiritual Capital, Advocacy and Grassroots Mobilization & Service Delivery