Introduction 1. Addressing the Taboos 2. Religion in Development Thought 3. Religion in Debate 4. Religion in Development Practice 5. Conflicts Between Traditions 6. Dialoguing Traditions Bibliography
Reviews how religion has been treated in the evolution of development thought, how it has been conceptualised in the social sciences, and highlights the major deficiencies of the assumption of secularism. This book provides empirical examples drawn from the Christian and Islamic religious traditions.
Severine Deneulin is Lecturer in International Development at the University of Bath, UK, and a Research Associate at the Department of International Development, University of Oxford. She holds a DPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, and an MA in Economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. She has published The Capability Approach and the Praxis of Development (2006) and co-edited Transforming Unjust Structures (2006). Masooda Bano recently completed a DPhil at the University of Oxford on aid and cooperation in voluntary groups in Pakistan. She is currently a research associate at Queen Elizabeth House and a junior research fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford, and is undertaking research on madrasas in Pakistan. She is working with Richard Batley on non-state service provision and is also independently funded by a fellowship under the ESRC Non-Governmental Public Action Programme.
Religion in Development reminds us of the forgotten role of
religion in Development. Séverine Deneulin and Masooda Bano tell us
that the usual focus of the study of Development on the
nation-state is parochial. Scholarship on Development suffers from
the same myopia ... Religion in Development introduces a shift in
the conceptual framework that separates Development from the
linear, rational idea of progress ... Religion in Development
deserves to be read carefully to understand the paradoxes and irony
of Development. It is lucid, creative and sensitive.
*Abdul Aziz Said, American University*
For too long in Development Studies the response to religion has
been blindness or embarrassment, occasionally even hostility. In
the excellent work of Severine Deneulin and Masooda Bano we now
have a new basis, firmly rooted in good judgment and buttressed by
the best research, for bringing religion in to the mainstream of
development policy and research. Their book is an eloquent case
against treating religion either as an obstacle to change or as a
policy instrument, and against treating religious leadership as
mere clients or project managers. They show that a coherent
approach cannot consider religion in general as a homogeneous
package, but also that a coherent approach must take account of the
pervasiveness and variety of religious cultures and practices, and
of religiously inspired politics. With its clear style and
abundance of telling examples, this book will be indispensable to
policymakers, practitioners and academics working in
development.
*David Lehmann, Cambridge University*
This volume provides a remarkably concise and clear introduction to
a new emerging field in development studies. So far development
theory and practise has tended to ignore the impact of the
importance of religious ideas, beliefs and practices on
development. This neglect is addressed head on by Dr. Severine
Deneulin in a way that makes the text appealing, accessible and
very attractive to undergraduates, postgraduates and teachers
interested in the subject from a variety of disciplines. Religion
in Development fills an important gap in the subject area and will
certain become essential reading for all those who want to find out
more about the manifold interactions between religions and
development.
*Gurharpal Singh, University of Birmingham*
The intersections of international development and religion take
many surprising forms; they force a reevaluation of religion's
roles in society and of the very purposes of the development
challenge. Severine Deneulin's book explores the intellectual roots
of debates around the topic and their implications for both
Christianity and Islam and for development practice.
*Katherine Marshall*
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