Reflections on the Role of Religion and Faith in Development Discourse and Practice (abstract)

This concluding chapter takes up issues arising from the preceding contributions to this volume, with a view towards enriching further debates and policy dialogues relating to religion and development. This chapter is divided into six sections. Following the introduction in section 1, section 2 deals with the (dis)continuities in the interaction between religion and development over an extended historical timeframe. Section 3 sheds light on the larger context of the ongoing engagements and confrontations between religion and neoliberal development. This, in turn, leads to an examination in section 4 of the role of new religious movements in conceptualizing and responding to the various existential insecurities generated by globalization. Drawing from the chapters contained in this volume and previous publications by various other authors, section 5 assesses the role of, and challenges to, faith-based organisations in reintegrating values in an increasingly materialistic world. Finally, section 6 summarises the conclusions of the essay