A master thesis from Aalborg University
Significance of Christian faith-based institutions in the Danish development sector: a case study of Danmission
[Significance of Christian faith-based organizations in the Danish development sector: a case study of Danmission]
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-02-03
Pages
44 pages
Abstract
Since early ages religions have made efforts to contribute to public welfare. Therefore, many so-called Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have a long history of engagement in developmental issues. Nonetheless, in mainstream development thinking, policy, and practice, religion has generally been neglected, despite its pervasiveness and importance. Recently this has started to change and issues of religion and FBOs has received international attention. Interestingly, in contrast to the other Northern European countries, Danish initiatives have been lacking and the contributions to the debate regarding religion and development have been few and scattered. in the Danish development agency Danida’s framework agreements from 2018-2021 6 out of 18 organizations chosen as strategic partners can be characterized as Christian FBOs. To explore and assumed advantage of FBOS in development work this thesis will explore if Christian FBOs provide a distinctive contribution to the Danish development sector and if yes, how? In order to answer the research question a framework on religion and development developed by Carole Rakodi is applied. Moreover, the thesis contains a case study of the Danish Christian FBO Danmission and has made use of semi structures interviews to gather relevant data. In the analysis it is established that Danmission, which is one of Danidas strategic partners, provides a distinctive contribution to the Danish development sector through their focus on dialogue and especially interreligious dialogue, as a means for conflict prevention and resolution. Moreover, Danmission is able promote active engagement in communities and promote diakonia through long-term partnerships with local churches. In addition, it has been established that Danmission has a holistic approach to development through links between their three working areas, church development, dialogue and poverty reduction. The work of Danmission especially contributes to SDG goal nr.16 regarding peaceful communities, which is significant to development because it establishes the basis for development in communities. Danmission also make efforts to influence Danida and make them aware of the importance of addressing religious issues in its strategies. As a further study, it could be beneficial to investigate how Danida perceives the contribution of Christian FBOs to the Danish development sector .
Keywords
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