Faith-Based Organizations in Development and Humanitarian Action

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) have long been central actors in global development and humanitarian relief, leveraging spiritual mandates, community trust and extensive networks to deliver services where state or secular agencies may be absent or distrusted. Their contributions span health, education, food security and advocacy, often combining material assistance with psychosocial and moral support. In fragile or conflict-affected settings, FBOs can access populations through established religious infrastructures and shared belief systems, fostering rapid response but also raising questions about inclusivity and neutrality. Recent scholarship has illuminated both the value and the tensions inherent in their work: the capacity of religious identity to mobilise resources and social capital; the challenges of navigating secular donor frameworks; and the imperative of addressing religious inequalities within development paradigms. As international agendas shift towards localisation, partnerships and the Sustainable Development Goals, the roles of FBOs are being re-examined in terms of accountability, equity and the interplay between faith commitments and professional standards.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Foundational analysis has traced three historical phases in the engagement between religion and global development institutions. In the early ‘pre-secular’ era, religious values and poverty-reduction were deeply intertwined, shaping colonial and missionary approaches. The subsequent ‘fragmented’ or secular phase saw development become institutionalised around secular nation-building and neoliberal assumptions, often sidelining religious perspectives. Since the early 2000s, a marked ‘turn to religion’ has emerged, driven by the recognition that religious actors and beliefs remain determinative for resilience, social cohesion and resource mobilisation. This modern phase raises critical questions: are we witnessing a genuine post-secular reconfiguration of development praxis or merely the instrumentalisation of FBOs within neoliberal systems? The study proposes a nuanced framework for understanding FBOs as neither monolithic agents of secular agendas nor purely autonomous spiritual actors, but as hybrid institutions whose faith identity can both empower communities and intersect with broader political and economic objectives.

Faith-Based Organizations in Development and Humanitarian Action publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in faith-based organizations in development and humanitarian action across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Faith-Based Organization (FBO): An entity whose mission, governance or services are rooted in religious beliefs and that mobilises faith networks to deliver development or humanitarian aid.

Post-secular: A condition in which religion remains a significant public force, challenging assumptions that modernisation inevitably leads to secularisation.

Localisation: The process of shifting power and resources in humanitarian action to local actors, emphasising local ownership and capacity.

Religious inequality: Disparities in access to rights, resources or services that arise from individuals’ or groups’ faith identities or beliefs.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The United Nations’ set of 17 global objectives, adopted in 2015, aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all by 2030.

References

1. Participation, development and tensions in New Zealand donor engagement with non-secular recipients: A case for recognising post-secularity in practice. World Development Sustainability (2024).
2. The place of religious inequalities within international development and humanitarian response frameworks: Lessons from Iraq. World Development (2024).
3. Faith in localisation? The experiences of local faith actors engaging with the international humanitarian system in South Sudan. Journal of International Humanitarian Action (2022).
4. Religions, poverty reduction and global development institutions. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2018).