Faith in forms: civil society evangelism and development in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper examines the position and role of religious organisations within a wider range of civil society organisations (CSOs) in two districts in Tanzania. We argue that where development agendas are externally generated and civil society is driven by supply-side factors, religious organisations are not very different from other CSOs. Whether faith adherence and religious values and beliefs lead to different kinds of development outcomes is open to question, partly because most Tanzanians claim some kind of religious motivation and partly because there are probably very few institutional settings in which religious attitudes do not have some kind of influence.Foi dans les formes : évangélisme et développement de la société civile en Tanzanie Cet article examine la position et le rôle des organisations religieuses dans une gamme plus large d'organisations de la société civile (OSC) dans deux districts de la Tanzanie. Nous soutenons que lorsque les ordres du jour de développement sont générés par des entités externes et que la société civile est impulsée par des facteurs liés à l'offre, les organisations religieuses ne sont pas très différentes des autres OSC. La question de savoir si l'adhésion à la foi et les valeurs et croyances religieuses aboutissent à différentes sortes de résultats de développement reste ouverte au débat, en partie parce que la plupart des Tanzaniens revendiquent une forme ou une autre de motivation religieuse et en partie parce qu'il y a probablement très peu de contextes institutionnels dans lesquels les attitudes religieuses n'ont pas une forme ou une autre d'influence. Fé nas formas: evangelismo da sociedade civil e desenvolvimento na TanzâniaEste artigo examina a posição e papel de organizações religiosas dentro de um espectro mais amplo de Organizações da Sociedade Civil (OSCs) em dois distritos da Tanzânia. Argumentamos que quando as agendas de desenvolvimento são geradas externamente e a sociedade civil é orientada por fatores relacionados à oferta, as organizações religiosas não são muito diferentes de outras OSCs. É algo a ser discutido se o respeito à fé e valores e crenças religiosos levam a diferentes tipos de resultados de desenvolvimento, em parte porque a maioria dos Tanzanianos reivindicam algum tipo de motivação religiosa e em parte porque é provável que existam pouquíssimos contextos institucionais nos quais as atitudes religiosas não possuem algum tipo de influência.Fe en las formas: evangelización y desarrollo de la sociedad civil en Tanzania Este ensayo examina el posicionamiento y el papel de las organizaciones religiosas en un grupo más amplio de organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC) en dos distritos de Tanzania. Las autoras sostienen que, cuando los programas de desarrollo se definen en el exterior y la sociedad civil responde a factores de oferta, las organizaciones religiosas no se distinguen de las demás OSC. Cabe preguntarse si profesar una fe o ciertos valores y creencias en particular conduce a resultados de desarrollo diferentes dado que la mayoría de lo...

Does Religious Faith Matter in Development Practice? Perspectives from the Savelugu-Nanton District in Northern Ghana

“…This seems to contradict the argument by Hefferan et al (2009) that in secular organisations, there are no organised faith practices such as prayers and devotions. As demonstrated by Green et al (2012), in some contexts, the operations of FBOs are not distinctive from those of secular organisations. In the case of WVG, our respondents emphasised several times that their commitments and the daily reliance on prayers within organisational settings and field sites enable them to withstand many adversities, thus making them unique from their secular counterparts.…”

Positioning Missionaries in Development Studies, Policy, and Practice

“…First, these typologies are based on an assumption that we can tell the difference between secular and religious NGOs (Fountain, 2013;M. Green et al, 2012;Leurs, 2012;Paras & Stein, 2012;Paras, 2012;Rakodi, 2011bRakodi, , 2012bTomalin, 2012;Tvedt, 2006;Vander Zaag, 2013).…”

“…Green et al, 2012;Leurs, 2012;Paras & Stein, 2012;Paras, 2012;Rakodi, 2011bRakodi, , 2012bTomalin, 2012;Tvedt, 2006;Vander Zaag, 2013). In the developing world where there is little separation between religion and state, the distinction clearly blurs (M. Green et al, 2012;Tomalin, 2012;Tvedt, 2006). Even in Western contexts, the underlying problem is in the way that such a distinction creates a "secular fiction", an "underlying set of problematic assumptions about the separation between the sacred and the profane, between the goals of mission and development, and, more broadly, the separation between religion and politics" (Paras, 2012, p. 232).…”

Co-Producing Ineffective States: Social Knowledge, Social Policy and Social Citizenship in Africa and in Development

“…The majority of recent initiatives introducing new entitlements around social protection actually reinstate community or its proxies as the institution through which needs are assessed and targeting effected. This is evident in the allocation of support to children categorised as `vulnerable' under AIDS programming in Tanzania; in the Ethiopia Productive Safety Nets Programme 8 and the delivery of subsidised inputs to poor households in Malawi (Green & Mercer 2012;Swidler & Watkins 2009;Eggen 2011).…”