Religion and Development

For years, academics and policy makers have claimed that economic progress would lead to a less religious world. Yet in practice, the very opposite has seemed to be true. Despite impressive advances in business and technology, citizens continue to hold strongly to their faiths, viewing the world through the prism of religious ideology even as they live increasingly modern lives.

Religion and Development explores the enduring relationship between religion and economic development, focusing less on religious institutions and more on the ideas of religion. For certain people, religion exists as a separate dimension of life, often operating behind or in conjunction with drivers of development. Contributors argue that religious ideas are what motivate citizens to act and that adhering to a religious worldview results in specific outcomes. They particularly address the failure of technocratic visions of development to respond to the issues of everyday life. Exploring ways to harness religious resources for development, they also debate the belief that material advancement of individuals and communities is inseparable from spiritual improvement.