RELIGION, PHILANTHROPY AND DEVELOPMENT: SOME CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

The aim of this paper is to examine the nature of the engagement between religion, philanthropy and development agencies. Issues relating to religion, spirituality and associated matters have been largely ignored in much of the international literature on development. This was largely influenced by secularisation theory which envisaged that religion would play an increasingly diminishing role in modern society. There is also a plethora of literature suggesting that religion is a threat to social harmony as it sows seeds of division. Hence, religion, spirituality and culture have not been considered by development agencies and practitioners. Furthermore, it was considered inappropriate to combine the spiritual concerns of religion with the material matters associated with development, and the possibility of both sectors working together diminished. The past three decades, however, has witnessed the rising influence of religion and spiritually, especially in the global south. The reasons for this are discussed and the links with philanthropy are explored in the paper.