Can Religion Contribute to Development? The Road from 'Truth' to 'Trust'

Religion has played a rather ambivalent role in the study of development. This can partly be attributed to the common emphasis on its role for providing insurance and risk reduction. Current challenges for enhancing poverty alleviation in settings of civic conflict increasingly ask attention for social mediation and new identity building. Religion can then become a key driver for supporting bridging and linking networks. This requires, however, that epistemological attention shifts from the study of 'truth' to the understanding of 'trust'.