Religious Voices in the Politics of International Development, 1st ed. 2021 Faith-Based NGOs as Non-state Political and Moral Actors Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy Series

This first study of faith-based development NGOs? (FBOs) political roles focuses on how U.S. FBOs in international development educate and mobilize their constituencies. Most pursue cautious reformist agendas, but FBOs have sometimes played important roles in social movements. Nelson unpacks those political roles by examining the prominence of advocacy in the organizations, the issues they address and avoid, their transnational relationships, and their relationships with religious and secular social movements. The agencies that educate and mobilize U.S. constituencies most actively are associated with small Christian sects or with non-Christian minority faiths with historic commitments to activism or service. Specialized advocacy NGOs play important roles, and emerging movements on immigration and climate may represent fresh political energy. The book examines faith-based responses to the crises of climate change, COVID-19, and racial injustice, and argues that these will shape the future of religion as a moral and political force in America, and of NGOs in international development.

                                    Religious Voices

                                    Between Silence and Protest

Chapter 2         Religion, Development and Faith-based organizations

                                    Religion and Development

                                                Religion’s influence: Beliefs, institutions, and practices

                                                “World religions”: Changing patterns, dynamism, and influence

Religion and Politics: The United States and Beyond

                                    Contemporary religious voices in US Policy

                                    Religion, mobilization and politics in the rich countries

                                    Perspectives on NGOs

                                                Marketplace

                                                Global socio-political systems 

                                                Shared values, identities, and trust

                                                Institutions: organizational affiliation and institutional rootedness

                                    Why Faith-based NGOs?

Religion, FBOs and development agencies          

Chapter 3         Faith-based identities

FBOs as religious and as organizations

Types of faith based organizations in international charitable action

            FBOs: The players

International FBOs: Balancing professional and religious identities

Faith-based NGOs: four big issues

            Whom to serve? Universal or communal? 

            Individual transformation and social change

            Proselytizing

            Religious belief, culture, and staffing

NGOs’ institutional ties to religion: a typology

Chapter 4         Encouraging Active Citizen Voices on International Policy? The Record of U.S. Faith-based NGOs

                        FBOs, Religious Organizations, and Political Voice

                                    Four models of religious political voice on international affairs

                        Faith-based NGOs as Advocates

                                    Record and limitations

                        Independent issue-focused groups

                        Mobilizing or marginalizing religious citizen action?

Chapter 5         Agendas and Strategies: Prophetic voices and cautious reformers

            Understanding FBO Advocacy: Theory and Motivations

                                                Why FBO advocacy?

Method: Categorizing Advocacy Issues

                                    Public policy advocacy agendas: Findings

                                    FBO and Secular NGO Agendas

                                    A Closer Look: “Advocating Against Hunger”

                                                Benchmarks: Two broad agendas on food security

                                                Faith-based food security agendas

                                                Agendas in comparative perspective

Chapter 6         Global Religions and National Politics

                                    NGOs, Politics, Religion and International Development

                                    FBO Families

                                                Transnational relationships in religious communities

                                    Universal Faiths and Sources of Variation

                                                Legal-institutional framework

                                    Faith-based Identities and Political Voice

                                                Advocacy issue agendas

                                                Advocacy alliances

                                    Universal Faiths and National Politics

Chapter 7         Beyond Advocacy?  Mobilizing Compassion

                                    Methodology

                                    The FBOs and the actions they encourage

                        Transformative Work in Action: Some Themes and Cases

Faith in the Marketplace: Consumers and Investors

            Simplicity

            Fair trade

                                    Divesting fossil fuels, investing in energy access

Some Implications

Chapter 8         Religious Movements and FBOs: The Climate Threat and Covid-19

                                                What resources do faith-based NGOs deploy?

                                    Three Contemporary movements

                                                Jubilee debt campaign

                                                Sanctuary movements

                                                Save Darfur Coalition

                                    Climate and Energy Access: A cause struggles to become a movement

COVID-19: Prophetic voices in a pandemic?

FBOs in a Society in Crisis: Racial Justice

Chapter 9         Conclusions

                                    FBOs, Religious identities and US politics

                                    Limiting Factors: Agendas and communication

                                    FBOs and potential for mass action

                                    Lessons from most active mobilizers

Paul J. Nelson is Associate Professor of International Development at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), University of Pittsburgh, USA. Before joining the university in 1998 he worked for several faith-related non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He has published research on the World Bank, transnational NGO advocacy, religion and development, human rights-based development, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

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