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Introduction: Faith-Based
Humanitarianism in Contexts of
Forced Displacement
ELENA FIDDIAN-QASMIYEH
Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, UK
Elena.fiddian-qasmiyeh@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Despite an overall paucity of literature, the relationship between religious
identity, belief and practice on the one hand, and processes of forced
migration on the other, has received increasing attention in the 2000s.
1
Over the past decade, a number of journals have convened Special Issues
which focus on particular dimensions of this relationship. The introductions
and contributions to such volumes note the extent to which religion may play
a significant role as a potential cause of forced migration (i.e. examining
asylum claims based on the grounds of religious persecution, see Mayer’s
2007 Special Issue of Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ)), and within forced
migrants’ experiences of internal and international displacement, asylum-
seeking, protracted refugeedom, and the quest for effective durable solutions.
With reference to the focus on faith and experiences, Goz´ dziak and Shandy’s
2002 Special Issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies, entitled ‘Religion and
Spirituality in Forced Migration,’ is a particularly noteworthy collection,
whose articles engage with diverse ways of negotiating and coping with dis-
placement which variously draw on, and/or result in changes in, personal,
familial and collective religious beliefs and practices.
2
While the
above-mentioned collections draw together case-studies from a diversity of
religious traditions, other Special Issues have more concretely explored the
history of asylum and contemporary experiences of seeking refuge and pro-
tection in relation to specific monotheistic religions, such as Tu
¨rk’s 2008
Special Issue of RSQ on ‘Asylum and Islam’.
The multiplicity of causal and experience-based linkages between forced
migration and religion, faith and spirituality have therefore been explored
through a variety of lenses to date, and yet the extent to which religious
identity, belief and practice may provide the underpinnings for humanitarian
responses to forced migration, has largely remained under-studied. Whilst
mentioned in passing in both Goz´ dziak and Shandy’s (2002) and Mayer’s
(2007) introductions, it is notable that no contributions in either of these
Special Issues focus on faith-based humanitarian responses to displacement,
with only one reference to religious humanitarian organizations—Nawyn
Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 24, No. 3 ßThe Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press.
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2005—included in the ‘Select Bibliography’ of the 2007 RSQ Special Issue. A
year later, the collection on ‘Asylum and Islam’ featured a brief reflection on
Islamic Relief’s faith-based motivations and modes of engagement with refu-
gees and internally displaced people (Kirmani and Khan 2008). The present
Special Issue both complements these earlier studies, and specifically aims to
expand our understandings of the history, motivations, nature and implica-
tions of a diversity of faith-based humanitarian responses to forced migration
around the world.
Eight of the ten contributions included in this Special Issue were
initially presented at an international workshop entitled ‘Faith-Based
Humanitarianism: The Response of Faith Communities and Faith-based
Organizations in Contexts of Forced Migration,’ which was held at the
Refugee Studies Centre (University of Oxford) in September 2010.
Although the two remaining authors were unable to attend the workshop,
one was involved in the development of its thematic focus (see Snyder’s
background paper 2009), while the second (Orji) made an earlier draft of
his paper available to the contributors. Indeed, in addition to receiving
detailed comments from the Guest Editor, most papers were informally
shared with one or more of the other authors before being submitted to
blind peer review. This process was introduced in order to facilitate the iden-
tification of commonalities across a number of papers and case-studies, and
to encourage the continuation of the dialogue which emerged throughout the
workshop.
Faith Communities and Faith-Based Organizations
As demonstrated in the contributions to this Special Issue, a variety of
definitions and typologies exist vis-a
`-vis the two key terms included in the
second part of the workshop’s title: ‘faith communities’ and ‘faith-based
organizations’. The term ‘faith communities’ broadly refers to ‘formally-
recognized groups or bodies which profess a belief in a superhuman reality
and/or god(s) and which worship this reality and/or god(s)’ (Snyder 2009: 5);
the term ‘community of believers’ may also be appropriate in this regard. In
contrast, a ‘faith-based organization’ (FBO) can be defined as ‘any organiza-
tion that derives inspiration from and guidance for its activities from the
teachings and principles of faith or from a particular interpretation or
school of thought within a faith’ (Clarke and Jennings 2008: 6).
In the context of this Special Issue, FBOs are understood to derive their
‘organizational identity and mission from a particular religion or spiritual
tradition’ (Palmer 2011: 97), but are distinct from the faith community
whose ethos guides their work, in so far as their programmes and projects
are guided to fulfil a particular function,
3
such as responding to humanitarian
needs arising from forced migration. Importantly, just as ‘secular’
humanitarian organizations are highly heterogeneous in nature, so too are
FBOs involved in humanitarian responses to forced migration. Hence, FBOs
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range from small-scale local-level religious congregations, to national
inter-denominational coalitions and networks, to international humanitarian
agencies associated with a particular religion; equally, they have highly
diverse histories, underlying motivations, fund-raising mechanisms, and
modes of operation. This heterogeneity is both reflected in, and critically
examined through the following articles.
Historical and Theoretical Contributions
The Issue opens with a detailed overview of the development of historical and
contemporary conceptualizations and practices of granting sanctuary and
asylum. Philip Marfleet explores changes and continuities in the religion–
sanctuary nexus, ranging from the sanctity of Pharaonic temples and the
ancient Greek state institution of asylon, to twenty-first century initiatives
such as Cities of Sanctuary. Focusing in particular on Judaeo-Christian
traditions, he considers the historical shift from the protection available to
individuals and groups within sacred spaces such as churches and other
places of worship, to the state’s appropriation of the right to protect exiles
(who were often fleeing religious persecution), ultimately noting the faith-
based foundations of contemporary sanctuary movements led by civil society
organizations and networks in countries such as the United States (US) and
the United Kingdom (UK). Marfleet’s contribution resonates with a number
of articles within the Special Issue, including Parsitau’s discussion of
contemporary cases which have directly challenged assumptions about the
inviolability of sacred spaces, and Wilson’s analysis of ‘faith-based
hospitality’ towards asylum seekers and refugees in Australia.
In light of the historical influence of religious traditions in the development
of humanitarian policy and practice, Alastair Ager and Joey Ager explore
how, why and to what effect practitioners and scholars from the global North
have effectively ‘secularized’ humanitarianism, ostensibly to uphold the insti-
tutionalized humanitarian norms of ‘neutrality’ and ‘impartiality.’ Drawing
on a range of examples from across Sub-Saharan Africa, Ager and Ager
examine the ways in which secular humanitarianism effectively negates the
significance which religious belief, practice and experience may hold for dis-
placed people themselves. In turn, they argue that, far from being
value-neutral, ‘functional secularism’ ‘serves to privilege certain liberal
materialist assumptions implicit within the discourse of western elites, repre-
senting a form of neo-colonialism’ (p. 457). Overall, their contribution
engages with broader debates within social theory which not only question
long-standing assumptions that modernization and modernity would invari-
ably be characterized by the entrenchment of rationality and secularization,
but which in effect hold that we are living in a ‘post-secular’ age in which
religious belief and practice are becoming increasingly, if differently,
important for individuals and communities around the world.
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Following the historical and theoretical reflections offered by Marfleet and
Ager and Ager, the remaining contributions are divided into two groups.
The articles by Orji, Parsitau, Horstmann and Fiddian-Qasmiyeh present
case-studies from Nigeria, Kenya, the Thai–Burma border, and Algeria to
examine the multiple roles played by organizations and individuals motivated
by faith throughout different phases and scenarios of displacement across the
global South. The second group of articles by Wilson, Snyder and Eby et al.
in turn focus on the support provided by FBOs throughout processes of
asylum-seeking, resettlement and local integration in Australia, the UK and
the US. All of these contributions draw on primary research with displaced
populations and/or FBOs, and provide invaluable insights into key questions
including: 1) what, if anything, distinguishes the motivations, actions and
impacts of faith-based and secular organizations? and 2) how do displaced
people relate to local, national and international faith-based aid providers,
given the power inequalities which characterize such encounters?
Faith-Based Humanitarian Responses to Internal and International
Displacement in the Global South
Through case-studies of Nigeria and Kenya, Nkwachukwu Orji and Damaris
Parsitau (respectively) examine the ways in which diverse local and
national-level FBOs provide humanitarian assistance to internally displaced
populations (IDPs). With reference to conflict-induced displacement in Jos
(Plateau State, Nigeria), Orji draws on primary research conducted with
members of five Nigerian Christian and Muslim organizations to examine
the structure of their relief operations, their sources of funding, how they
select aid recipients, and the nature of the services they offer to IDPs.
Representing a variety of denominations, these organizations range from na-
tional level ecumenical and inter-faith coalitions
4
to initiatives funded and
managed directly by local congregations. Given the extent to which IDPs in
Jos have been affected by a conflict which itself had clear religious dimen-
sions, Orji explores the advantages and challenges which arise when many of
these organizations adopt a faith-centred approach to the selection of aid
beneficiaries, a mechanism which directly contravenes the universalist ap-
proach upheld by the international humanitarian principles of neutrality
and impartiality.
Complementing Orji’s study, Damaris Parsitau draws on ethnographic
research with four Christian churches in Nakuru and Nairobi (Kenya), and
with female IDPs based in Mai Mahiu IDP camp, to examine three main
dimensions of faith-based responses to the mass internal displacement caused
by Kenya’s 2007/2008 post-election violence. Firstly, she documents the
practical, emotional and spiritual support provided by the congregations
and leadership of these four churches. Despite being readily identifiable
as aid providers, however, these churches were neither immune from
conflict-induced displacement nor from the violence itself, drawing attention
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to the second dimension: not only were church ministers and pastors dis-
placed by violence alongside their congregants, but religious spaces and build-
ings themselves were directly threatened and attacked whilst providing refuge
to IDPs. Recognizing both the supportive roles and potential vulnerability of
FBOs in contexts of conflict-induced displacement, the third dimension
explored by Parsitau is that of faith as a mode of personal and collective
support amongst IDPs, as evidenced by the faith-based systems developed
in Mai Mahiu camp by and for female IDP survivors of sexual and
gender-based violence.
Displaced people’s agency to negotiate and mobilize faith in order to
enhance their own and other displaced people’s human welfare and to
develop systems of spiritual, material and political self-sufficiency is also
centralized in Alexander Horstmann’s examination of Christian Karen refu-
gees’ engagement with evangelical networks on the Thai–Burmese border.
Drawing on social network theory, Horstmann presents a number of ethno-
graphic vignettes to explore the multiple ways in which religious organiza-
tions engage with displaced peoples’ nationalist projects, in effect privileging
certain ethno-religious groups over others (in this case, Christian Baptist
Karens over Buddhist, Muslim or Animist refugees). On the one hand, he
argues that Christian Karen gain access to extensive social, spiritual and
educational services through these missionary networks. On the other hand,
Horstmann argues that ‘(f)ar from being passive recipients of humanitarian
aid, refugees make a career in the Christian church and emphasize their
aspirations by actively participating in evangelical efforts’ (p. 530) which
are intimately related to Karen Baptist networks both within Thailand and
Burma, and further afield.
While Horstmann’s case-study examines the ways in which Christian Karen
refugees actively engage with evangelical organizations of the same faith,
Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh explores how and why (Sunni Muslim) Sahrawi
refugees’ political representatives (Polisario Front) have actively encouraged
the continued presence and activism of American evangelical-humanitarians
in the Sahrawi refugee camps and beyond. In the context of international and
localized concerns pertaining to ‘Islamism’ and ‘terrorism’, Fiddian-Qasmiyeh
argues that evangelical-humanitarians are welcomed to the Algerian-based
Sahrawi refugee camps in order to ‘demonstrate the ‘‘ideal’’ nature of the
camps as spaces of ‘‘religious tolerance’’ and ‘‘inter-faith dialogue’’ ’ (p. 533).
While Polisario gain access to evangelical organizations’ humanitarian
supplies and powerful international advocacy networks, Fiddian-Qasmiyeh
subsequently examines the extent to which this strategy may create an
irreconcilable rupture both with non-evangelical Western donors, and also
between Polisario and Sahrawi refugees themselves. This contribution thereby
substantiates Horstmann’s analysis of the ways in which evangelical organ-
izations may become involved in supporting refugees’ nationalist projects,
and yet concludes by analysing the (explicit and latent) tensions which may
equally exist between faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations,
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refugees’ political representatives and different cohorts within the displaced
population itself.
Overall, the articles by Orji, Parsitau, Horstmann and Fiddian-Qasmiyeh
explore a diverse set of linkages between Southern-led faith-based humani-
tarian initiatives and Southern beneficiaries (i.e. Nigerian/Kenyan FBOs
supporting Nigerian/Kenyan IDPs) in addition to highlighting a diversity
of opportunities and challenges arising in relation to Northern FBOs’
responses to forced displacement in the global South (i.e. on the Thai/
Burmese border, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria). Together,
these contributions enhance our understandings of faith-based humanitarian
activities undertaken in diverse phases and contexts of internal and interna-
tional displacement, ranging from responses designed to address the immedi-
ate needs of individuals and communities as they experience the first stages of
conflict-induced displacement, to the provision of humanitarian services
and political support to protracted IDPs and refugees in cities, villages and
IDP/refugee camps. Whilst focusing primarily on Christian and Muslim aid
providers and recipients, these articles lay the foundations for further
in-depth, and potentially comparative, research with and about forced
migrants and aid providers of a wider variety of faiths.
Faith-based Humanitarianism in Northern Countries of First Asylum
and Resettlement
Complementing these analyses, the second group of articles highlights
the multiple roles of different types of FBOs in resettlement contexts and
countries of first asylum in the global North. As such, the contributions by
Wilson, Snyder and Eby et al. not only examine the motivations, nature and
implications of Christian-led programmes in Australia, the UK and the US
respectively, but also consider the extent to which asylum seekers and refu-
gees may, or may not, welcome faith-based versus ‘secular’ humanitarianism.
Through a case-study of Christian individuals’ and organizations’
responses to asylum seekers and refugees in Australia, Erin Wilson examines
the nature of ‘faith-based hospitality,’ whose roots she traces to the three
monotheistic traditions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). In line with
Marfleet’s earlier overview, Wilson argues that ‘(h)ospitality has a long asso-
ciation with asylum and sanctuary practices in various religious and secular
traditions’ (p. 555), subsequently exploring the ways in which Australian
FBOs raise funds, develop programmes, and attempt to influence the devel-
opment of more humane and hospitality-based state policies and practices.
Drawing on research with members of eight FBOs, Wilson explores the ways
in which Christian organizations negotiate their interactions with asylum
seekers and refugees of different faiths, recognizing both the advantages of
‘hav[ing] an openness to and experience with spirituality and faith that enable
them to relate to asylum seekers of [any] faith’ (p. 555), and, simultaneously,
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the dangers of being perceived to be proselytizing in a context characterized
by significant power inequalities.
Attempts to influence state policy and practice, whilst recognizing the
dangers of co-optation by the state, are explored by Wilson in relation to
Australia, and by Susanna Snyder vis-a
`-vis diverse Christian-led activities in
the UK. Drawing on research with a range of Christian congregations, local
religious projects and ecumenical groups, Snyder examines the ways in which
FBOs engage with the British state and civil society to promote systemic
change (which she classifies as ‘unsettling’ activities), in addition to examining
the nature of social and religious practices which are designed to ‘settle’
asylum seekers and refugees. Paralleling the studies by Parsitau, Horstmann
and Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, which centralize the agency of displaced people in
diverse phases and scenarios of displacement in the global South, Snyder also
recognizes the extent to which asylum seekers and refugees in the UK may
themselves emerge as religious actors challenging British churches to be more
active, or even engaging in attempts to convert members of the established
population. Framing her analysis around three ‘central features of religious
bodies ...transcendent motivation, organizational nature and strategies, and
resource mobilization’ (p. 574), Snyder outlines the potential advantages and
challenges faced by Christian organizations aiming to ‘settle’ and ‘unsettle’
different actors in the UK; she concludes by arguing in favour of the devel-
opment of further comparative research to identify and explore the work of
non-Christian faith-based humanitarian groups.
With both Wilson and Snyder primarily addressing the role of FBOs in
Northern countries of first asylum, Jessica Eby, Erika Iverson, Jenifer Smyers
and Erol Kekic explore the long-standing contributions made by FBOs in the
development and implementation of the US resettlement programme.
Drawing on structured interviews and surveys, Eby et al. present a detailed
case-study of Church World Service to explore ‘the historic significance of
faith communities’ and FBOs, ‘their unique contribution to refugees’ local
integration’, and the ways in which they ‘respond to meet the needs of
refugees in a changing social and economic context’ (p. 586). In line with
the contributions by Orji, Parsitau, Wilson and Snyder, the analysis presented
by Eby et al. notes the significant role played not only by faith-based organ-
izations, but also by communities of faith, who provide invaluable resources
and support to both secular and faith-based projects. Exploring the multifa-
ceted relationship between Christian aid organizations and resettled refugees
of non-Christian backgrounds (including Somali, Iraqi and Bhutanese refu-
gees), Eby et al. argue that faith-based models enhance prospects for local
integration, including through the promotion of cross-cultural and inter-faith
understanding between host and resettled refugee populations.
The three case-studies presented by Wilson, Snyder and Eby et al therefore
demonstrate the variety of faith-based humanitarian models in place across
the global North, ranging from public–private resettlement partnerships
which receive significant funding from the US government, to small-scale
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congregations and local-level organizations providing spiritual and material
support to forced migrants as they apply for asylum, await decisions on their
cases, or attempt to integrate locally in Australia and the UK. These papers
also illustrate the ways in which Northern FBOs not only provide humani-
tarian services, but also engage in advocacy and awareness-raising in order to
encourage the development of more humane and ‘hospitable’ state and civil
society responses to forced migrants. The (overt or implied) political nature of
their interventions in favour of forced migrants, attempting to prompt a
change in societal and state attitudes and policies towards asylum seekers
and refugees, is to be contrasted with many FBOs’ acute awareness of the
dangers of being perceived to be attempting to convert their beneficiaries
(a challenge which many FBOs face when implementing humanitarian
projects across the global South, whether in IDP and refugee camps or in
contexts of urban and rural displacement).
Concluding Remarks
Drawing the Special Issue to a close, Elizabeth Ferris highlights the scale of
faith-based financial contributions to humanitarian aid projects and
programmes around the world, before exploring three key issues which
emerge in the preceding case-studies. Firstly, Ferris contemplates what, if
anything, makes faith-based humanitarian organizations different from
secular organizations, noting that the internal heterogeneity of FBOs on
the one hand and secular humanitarian organizations on the other, renders
it difficult (and unproductive) to develop generalizations vis-a
`-vis either.
A further challenge emerges when it is recognized that secular organizations
often employ staff who are personally motivated to engage in humanitarian
work by their religious beliefs (also stressed by Ager and Ager), while a given
FBO may employ both secular staff and, indeed, individuals of a variety of
faiths. Nonetheless, Ferris concludes that the differences between FBOs and
secular organizations ‘appear to centre on the extent to which religious activ-
ities such as worship, prayer, and evangelical activities are integrated into
these organizations’ humanitarian work’ (p. 616); this in turn raises signifi-
cant questions vis-a
`-vis the dangers of proselytism and the potential disjunc-
ture between FBOs’ motivations and modes of operation, and international
humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality. Secondly, Ferris
assesses how, why and to what effect FBOs have responded to the trend
towards the increasing professionalization of humanitarian work; and, third-
ly, she explores the potential for secular and faith-based organizations to
work in partnership, noting the extent to which ‘it is arguably easier for
Oxfam, Christian Aid and Islamic Relief to work together than it is for
most large international NGOs to work with their local counterparts’
(p. 620). Ferris concludes by outlining a range of areas for further research,
which echo and at times expand upon the suggestions offered in the preceding
contributions.
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Areas for Further Research
Given the primary focus on Christian and/or Muslim faith-based humanitar-
ian aid providers and recipients throughout this Special Issue, Ferris and
other contributors, including Marfleet, Wilson and Snyder, note the urgency
of further research being conducted into the history, nature and impacts of
humanitarian initiatives by organizations and communities associated with
a wider range of religious traditions. It is hoped that the contributions in
this Issue will therefore lay the foundations for the development of a more
extensive and potentially comparative analysis of the similarities and
differences, advantages and disadvantages of, for instance, Buddhist, Hindu
and Jewish faith-based humanitarian responses to forced migration across the
global South and global North.
The need for more in-depth analysis of diverse inter-faith humanitarian
responses is also prioritized by many of the contributors, including Eby
et al., Orji and Fiddian-Qasmiyeh. Future investigations may explore Orji’s
suggestion that inter-faith projects have the potential to contribute to
peace-building in contexts of conflict-induced displacement, or might consider
Fiddian-Qasmiyeh’s argument that ‘inter-faith’ programmes may in fact be
characterized by the effective silencing of debate through what she concep-
tualizes as systems of ‘repress-entation’ and the ‘tyranny of tolerance’
(p. 535). Developing research into inter-faith projects will provide a prime
opportunity to examine interactions not only between Christian and Muslim
organizations and communities (as explored in this Issue), but also with a
wider range of religious traditions, as outlined above.
A third overarching area for further research is highlighted by Ager and Ager
and Ferris alike, and relates to the need for a more critical engagement with the
multiple ways in which humanitarian policy and practice have been shaped by
both religious traditions and evolving conceptualizations of secularism
throughout different historical periods, and in different geo-political contexts.
As suggested by Parsitau, Horstmann, Fiddian-Qasmiyeh and Snyder,
a further set of questions which require more extensive investigation refers
to the ways in which displaced people variously negotiate interactions with
faith-based aid providers in contexts of widespread power inequalities. Such
research may lead to a better understanding of the ways in which displaced
populations develop their own faith-based ‘humanitarian’ support systems, in
addition to exploring IDPs’ and refugees’ active attempts to proselytise
amongst other displaced and hosting populations alike, or the ways in
which they may actively welcome, resist or contest the presence of humani-
tarian organizations and individuals motivated by faith.
Acknowledgements
The workshop and preparation of this Special Issue were generously sup-
ported by the Commonwealth Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation,
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and the UK Department for International Development. Thanks are due to
He
´loı
¨se Ruaudel for her assistance in organizing the workshop, and for
facilitating the preparation of this Issue. A brief workshop report (first
draft by Workshop Rapporteur Helen McElhinney, revisions and final ver-
sion by Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh) is available from http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/
events/faith-based-humanitarianism/FaithBasedHumanitarianismReport.
Thanks and acknowledgements are due to Khalid Koser and Joanne van
Selm (the co-Editors of the Journal of Refugee Studies) for supporting the
development of this Special Issue, Elizabeth Green and Margaret Okole for
their editorial assistance, and all of the anonymous reviewers for their invalu-
able comments on earlier versions of the contributions. I am particularly
grateful to Yousif Qasmiyeh for his patience and critical insights throughout
the preparation of this Issue.
1. It is notable that this interest in exploring the connections between religion and
forced migration has coincided with the increased attention given to the role of
religion in international development studies (see World Faiths’ Development
Dialogue 2002; Clarke 2006; Clarke and Jennings 2008; Deneulin with Bano
2009) and relief/humanitarian initiatives more broadly (see Ferris 2005; Benedetti
2006; De Cordier 2009; Hopgood 2006, Thaut 2009).
2. Lunn’s brief definition of the terms ‘religion’, ‘spirituality’ and ‘faith’ is useful at
this stage. She defines ‘religion as an institutionalized system of beliefs and prac-
tices concerning the supernatural realm; spirituality as the personal beliefs by which
an individual relates to and experiences the supernatural realm; and faith as the
human trust or belief in a transcendent reality (although the word faith is also
applied in non-religious contexts)’ (2009: 937–938).
3. Clarke identifies five main ‘focuses’ or ‘functions’ guiding the activities of FBOs,
leading to the following typology: faith-based representative organizations;
faith-based charitable or development organizations (including faith-based humani-
tarian organizations); faith-based socio-political organizations; faith-based mission-
ary organizations; and faith-based radical, illegal or terrorist organizations (Clarke
2006: 840).
4. The term ‘ecumenical’ refers to coalitions formed by different Christian denomin-
ations (i.e. groups of the same faith), while ‘inter-faith’ denotes cooperation with
members and groups of different faiths (e.g. Jewish, Christian and Muslim
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