Religion and Development

The role of religion in development work has long been a neglected issue in the Western academic tradition. Religion and Development: Nordic Perspectives on Involvement in Africa is part of a recent wave of publications trying to bring more colors into the traditional black-and-white picture of religion and development as two separate analytical entities. Through the voices of experts in a variety of fields, from theology and development studies to social anthropology and global studies, this book sheds particular light on Nordic involvement in Africa. The relationship between North and South is explored through historical approaches and recent analysis, bringing relevant fieldwork and new case studies into the discussion. Numerous and varied sub-Saharan regions are presented in the book, and all the chapters take different approaches to how the North-South relationship has affected the development of the African continent for better or for worse. The contributors all argue that in order to understand development work in an era of global change, religion has to be an important part of the discussion.

Autorentext

Tomas Sundnes Drønen received his PhD from the School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway, where he is Professor of Global Studies and Religion. He has authored many publications on globalization, intercultural communication, and religious change in Africa, including Communication and Conversion in Northern Cameroon (2009) and Pentecostalism, Globalisation, and Islam in Northern Cameroon (2013).

Inhalt

Contents: Päivi Hasu/Tomas Sundnes Drønen: Introduction: Religion and Development - Nordic Perspectives on Involvement in Africa - Gerrie ter Haar: Poverty and Prosperity in Africa - Tomas Sundnes Drønen: Globalization, Religion and Development: Perspectives from Africa - Magne Supphellen: Effects of Religious Attitudes on the Self-Determination of Small-Scale Entrepreneurs in the Slum Areas of Nairobi - Mika Vähäkangas: Our Mission: Development. Comparative Perspectives on Development - David Livingstone and Finland's Development Policy Programme 2012 - Karen Lauterbach: Spiritual Gifts and Relations of Exchange among Congolese in Kampala, Uganda - Anne Kubai: Reinventing «Tradition»: Social Reconstruction and Development in Post-genocide Rwanda - Ville Päivänsalo: Fragile Health Justice: Cooperation with Faith Organizations - Kjetil Fretheim: Transformative Masculinity: Religion, Development and Gender in an Ecumenical Context - Auli Vähäkangas: Transforming Masculinities: Male Care Volunteers in Tanzania - Marianne Skjortnes: Religion and Development: A Gender Perspective on the Ambiguous Role of the Churches - Nikolai Hegertun: Religion and Development: Lessons from Three Donor Countries.