COUNTRY
United StatesPOPULATION
313,847,465 (July 2012 est.)GDP PER CAPITA
$49,000 (2011 est.)RELIGIONS
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)AT THE CENTER
RELATED RESOURCES
ORGANIZATIONS (17)
PEOPLE (16)
QUOTES (20)
Council on American-Islamic Relations National Executive Director Nihad Awad on Innocence of Muslims and the Violent Reactions to It
September 12, 2012
Barack Obama on Religious Freedom in the US at Cairo University
June 4, 2009
George W. Bush on Faith and Reason in Welcome Speech to Pope Benedict XVI
April 16, 2008
September 12, 2012
Barack Obama on Religious Freedom in the US at Cairo University
June 4, 2009
George W. Bush on Faith and Reason in Welcome Speech to Pope Benedict XVI
April 16, 2008
United States
Interviews (88)
The United States is a secular democracy with a culture rooted in its majority Christian tradition. Religious dissidents from Europe, particularly Puritans from England, were among the first North American settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Declaration of Independence (1776), which marked a break with the British Crown, invoked an Enlightenment Deism, while the first amendment to the Constitution of 1789 both prohibited the establishment of religion and protected religion’s free exercise. High levels of religious diversity and observance have remained distinctive features of American society; even as waves of Catholic immigration from the 19th century onward have diluted the Protestant majority, Jewish and, more recently, Muslim minorities have assumed a more visible role in American society. With the exception of John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, all U.S. presidents have been Protestants. The engagement of religious communities in politics, which has increased since the rise of Evangelical Christianity in the 1980s, often centers on values issues such as abortion and homosexuality.
Background: Musimbi Kanyoro and Katherine Marshall spoke by telephone on June 20, 2011, following up by email. The context was the Berkley Center and WFDD exploration of faith dimensions of global efforts to address maternal mortality. Dr. Kanyoro brings a rare combination of rigorous experience in policy and advocacy in secular institutions and deep knowledge of the world of faith institutions at national and international levels, especially ecumenical institutions. She thus reflects on the...
Background: This exchange is based on a November 3, 2009 telephone conversation between Stephen Carr and Thomas Bohnett, in advance of a World Faiths Development Dialogue-sponsored consultation held at Georgetown University on links between faith and agriculture. The interview was updated by email correspondence in March 2011. Mr. Carr starts by highlighting his experience working with smallholder agriculture in Southern Sudan, Uganda, and Malawi, and stresses that working through religious...
Background: This discussion preceded the January 2011 consultation on faith and development in South and Central Asia in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A December 15 interview was conducted by telephone between Michael Bodakowski and Farida Vahedi, amplified through email correspondence with Katherine Marshall in March 2011. Ms. Vahedi describes the diverse programs, teachings, and initiatives of the Baha’i community in India and South Asia. She plays leading roles on many fronts; education and women’s...
Background: This conversation between James Pond and Ethan Carroll took place in Phnom Penh on February 2, 2011. James discusses the formative experiences that led to his founding Transitions Global, including his realization that victims of human trafficking deserve the opportunity to realize their dreams. He explains his inquiry into the nature of success in aftercare, the need to professionalize service-provision, and Transitions’ aim to rehabilitate trafficked girls to the point that they...
Background: This conversation occurred between Farina So and Nathaniel Adams and DC-Cam's office in Phnom Penh on December 10, 2010. In it, Ms. So discusses issues of religion and identity in Cambodia's Cham community, including the role of women in safeguarding and transmitting these traditions. She also explains the importance of oral history, or as she calls it “history from below”, for empowering marginalized groups in Cambodia. She discusses how the Cham Oral History Project...
Background: The context for this discussion is preparation for a consultation on faith and development in South and Central Asia in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 10-11, 2011. The consultation is an endeavor of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, with support from the Henry R. Luce Foundation. Its aim is to take stock of the wide range of ongoing work by different organizations that are, in varying...
Background: Thoraya Obaid and Katherine Marshall sat down to reflect on Dr. Obaid's engagement with faith actors during a UN staff workshop in Turin, Italy in November 2010. In addition to discussing the upcoming stages of her career, after she leaves UNFPA in December 2010, the conversation builds on earlier exchanges and explores both the positive and less enthralling aspects of Dr. Obaid's longstanding determination to actively take culture and religion into account in pursuing UNFPA's...
Background: This discussion between Reverend Karpf and Katherine Marshall took place in Washington DC, soon after Ted Karpf retired from seven years at the World Health Organization in Geneva. The interview focuses on his extraordinary life journey, exploring his understanding of the church and his pastoral role. He describes his central role in the earliest understandings of the implications of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and how that led to his work on national and international public health...
Background: The context for this discussion is preparation for a consultation on faith and development in South and Central Asia, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 10-11, 2011. The consultation is an endeavor of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, with support from the Henry R. Luce Foundation. Its aim is to take stock of the wide range of ongoing development work by different organizations...
Background: Theary Seng, founder of the Cambodian Center for Justice and Reconciliation and an alumna of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, discusses her faith and her current work in reconciliation and civic education in Cambodia. Emphasizing the need for more creativity in disseminating the documentation and testimony from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in ways that foster civic conversation, she describes her mission as transforming Cambodians from subjects' and survivors' into...
This conversation between Ted Olbrich and Ethan Carroll took place over three-and-a-half hours on August 30, 2010, and also includes information from a brief follow-up phone call. Pastor Olbrich discusses the structure of Foursquare Cambodia while conducting a tour of the Church's Phnom Penh training facility, contributing enlightening insights into Pentecostalism's approach to reaching the “poorest of the poor.” He also discusses his belief in the failures of “humanist...
Background: This conversation between Phil Bowden and Sarah Chhin of International Cooperation Cambodia (ICC) and Katherine Marshall, Augustina Delaney, Michael Scharff, and Ethan Carroll of WFDD took place in August 2010 in Phnom Penh. The discussion focused on the legitimacy of and challenges facing orphanages in Cambodia, and on issues of donor coordination and roles of donors and NGOs. Both issues highlight the practical challenges in Cambodia today that surround the practice of...
Background: This exchange between Scilla Elworthy and Katherine Marshall took place in July, 2010 and traces Elworthy's multifaceted work over the years on women and peace. She began decades ago, sparked by a report she was asked to compile for UNESCO reviewing its contribution to the 1980 UN Mid Decade Conference on Women. She highlights the many threads that link work at the most global level, for example on nuclear disarmament, with actions at the local level, where women play prominent...
Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Consuelo Amat interviewed Ambassador Ochieng Adala, Executive Director of Africa Peace Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. Ambassador Adala is a career diplomat who joined the Kenya Foreign Service in April 1964. He was Kenya’s Ambassador to Zambia and the Southern African States, and to Egypt and the Northern African States. Adala was also Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN in New York before retiring from the Foreign...
Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Consuelo Amat interviewed Sheikh Abdullahi Abdi, Chairman of National Muslim Leaders Forum and CEO of Northern Aid, and Chairman of the National Governing Council for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development in Nairobi, Kenya. In the interview, Abdullahi discuses his work as a Muslim leader and advocate of the rights of marginalized populations, including those in the coastal region, the pastoralists in the...
Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in July 2010 undergraduate student Brian Dillon interviewed Father Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University. In this interview Father Nebres discusses the successes and challenges of balancing academic excellence and social justice in a university setting, as well as the importance of adapting programs to fit local needs. He also describes health and sanitation as a key future area of engagement.
Background: This July 2010 exchange with Katherine Marshall took place outlines the origins of Amina Sasul-Bernardo’s work to bring Filipino Muslim women more visibly and centrally into peace work. She emphasizes that Southeast regional dimensions of this work have grown, highlighting the ways in which often invisible potential for social action can be transmitted into new domains. She explores why women, when given the opportunity and sound tools, can be the most effective peacebuilders.
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Background: This June 2010 conversation between Maryann Cusimano Love and Susan Hayward focuses on Maryann's academic work in seeking to bridge the U.S. Government and organizations within the international relations field that have often failed to engage “religious actors and factors” with faith-based organizations and communities that are involved in peacebuilding and development. Though religious groups are not powerful economic actors, they have significant clout with grassroots networks...
Background: This July 2010 discussion between Afeefa Syeed and Katherine Marshall focuses on Afeefa's pioneering role within USAID and her rich experience there. She highlights the importance of listening to what communities want and driving programs from that perspective. Women are natural peacemakers, she argues, across many regions, from family to community to regional levels, sought out in conflicts because of their skills and approach. She also speaks to the active roles of youth, many...
Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Christopher O'Connor interviewed Josiah Fearon, Anglican Bishop of Kaduna, Nigeria. In this interview he talks about his work with Christians and Muslims to promote tolerance and peace (despite fierce opposition from extremists on both fronts), including offering workshops and lectures aimed at highlighting points of common interest and dispelling mutual suspicions and hostilities.
Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Christopher O'Connor interviewed S.L.S. Salifu, General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). In this interview, Salifu talks about his involvement with intra-Christian relations and Christian-Muslim relations and the challenges of overcoming misunderstanding to promote peace.
Background: This July 2010 discussion between Filiz Odabas-Geldiay and Katherine Marshall was in preparation for the USIP/Berkley Center/WFDD review of women, religion, and peace. Filiz traces her path to her present roles, which took her from Istanbul, Turkey, to many places and professional challenges, and highlights her commitment to the humanistic approach of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Support for women is integral to his approach and thus his movement. That approach to peace is...
Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Christopher O'Connor interviewed Talatu Aliyu, Communications and Monitoring and Evaluations Officer at the Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC) in Kaduna, Nigeria. In this interview Aliyu discusses her work at IMC spearheading an overhaul of its monitoring and evaluation procedures, as well as the impact of the diverse peacebuilding programs led by IMC.
Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Christopher O'Connor interviewed Yusuf Arrigasiyyu, Executive Director of the Muslim League for Accountability (MULAC). Yusuf Arrigasiyyu, who oversees the association’s initiatives, believes that good governance will ultimately lead to a more peaceful Nigeria.
Background: This discussion (on June 30, 2010) focuses on the Women PeaceMakers Program at the University of San Diego, which Dr. Aker created and directs. It involves intensive efforts to document and share the work of women from all world regions who are practitioners working for peace. While religion is not an explicit element of the program, Aker observes that very different world religions often provide a common unifying thread among the women and many cite the personal inspiration of...
Background: In this June 2010 exchange with Katherine Marshall, Karen Torjesen reflects on the evolution of her intellectual interest in religious history towards a focus on the role of women in the early church. That interest in religion and its gender dimensions paralleled a growing interest in women's studies. The two threads found themselves united in the development of Claremont's interreligious studies program and rooted in the social realities of the Los Angeles community. Her focus...
Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in July 2010 undergraduate student Ryan Covington interviewed Father Terry Charlton, founder and chaplain of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School. In this interview Charlton discusses how St. Aloysius was founded, the role of Ignatian values in the school's curriculum and pedagogy, and his goals for St. Aloysius students. He also reflects on fundraising and the school's long-term financial sustainability.
Background:
"It is not what the mind knows; it is what the heart knows that changes the world."
“Women are the boldest and most unmanageable of revolutionaries.”
This exchange with Katherine Marshall (in June, 2010) explores Sister Joan's path to her present work. Her focus on peace processes and the women’s movement stems from her Benedictine faith; Benedictines, she explains, strive for stability, which goes hand in hand with peace. Her most urgent call is to include women in policy processes...
"It is not what the mind knows; it is what the heart knows that changes the world."
“Women are the boldest and most unmanageable of revolutionaries.”
This exchange with Katherine Marshall (in June, 2010) explores Sister Joan's path to her present work. Her focus on peace processes and the women’s movement stems from her Benedictine faith; Benedictines, she explains, strive for stability, which goes hand in hand with peace. Her most urgent call is to include women in policy processes...
Background: This June 2010 exchange between Qamar-ul Huda and Susan Hayward focuses on Huda’s experiences as a Pakistani-American, which led him into the field of Islamic peacemaking, and his work for USIP in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Background: This June 2010 exchange between Manal Omar and Susan Hayward highlights Omar’s experiences and insights into religion and its intersection with women's empowerment, development, and peacemaking, particularly with respect to Muslim women in the Middle East. She speaks to the challenges she herself faces as a spiritually devout Muslim woman operating in an often secular-biased development field, and she emphasizes the need to build relationships between secular and religious women.
A Discussion with Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana, Associate Director, Salaam Institute, American University
May 18, 2010
Background: This May 2010 exchange between Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana and Susan Hayward focuses on Dr. Kadayifci-Orellan's experience leading workshops on Islamic peacemaking in the Middle East, and her observations of women's roles, absences, and strengths for peacemaking. She also reflects on the challenges women religious peacemakers face, and gulfs that separate secular and religious women working for empowerment and peace.
Background: This June, 2010 discussion between David Smock and Susan Hayward focuses on David's experiences in international development and as a Christian minister that led him to work in the field of religious peacemaking. Smock speaks about his religious peacemaking work and the ways in which women have often been excluded from that work.
Background: This May 2010 telephone exchange between Kathryn Poethig and Katherine Marshall explores Dr. Poethig's academic and professional experience with women's struggles for social justice and peace, particularly in the Philippines and Cambodia. She urges a particular focus on the role and efficacy of networks in both religious and non-religious contexts. Noting that the gulfs between secular and religious tend to be less pronounced outside the United States and Europe, she sees...
Background: This June, 2010 exchange between Susan Hayward and Katherine Marshall focuses on experiences that have inspired Susan Hayward to press for more purposeful exploration of the issues of women, religion, and peace, notably drawing on her work in Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Iraq. She highlights her growing concern about the sidelined roles of women in work for peace and the need to turn women’s issues into a central, not a peripheral concern. Instead of favoring the plans and agendas of...
Background: This exchange with Azza Karam was part of preparatory work for a WFDD/Berkley Center/USIP conference on women, religion, and peace on July 7-8, 2010. Ms. Karam and Katherine Marshall spoke by telephone on April 6, 2010 in preparation for the interview conducted on April 29, 2010. The discussion focuses on Ms. Karam's experience in building networks of women involved in peace, and her ongoing research on the topic. Her interest in the topic stems both from her lifelong commitment...
Background: This exchange, in April, 2010, between Marie Dennis and Katherine Marshall focuses on the different ways in which Ms. Dennis has engaged on issues of peace and justice in areas stretching from personal lifestyle to global issues. She discusses her own efforts to link her growing commitment to social justice to her family's lifestyle. Her role with the Maryknoll Global Concerns office brings to light many dimensions of women's roles as those who suffer in conflicts, especially at...
Background: This discussion was part of a WFDD investigation of connections between faith and agriculture. Dr. Barrett Brenton spoke by phone with Katherine Marshall and Thomas Bohnett on April 28, 2010 about controversies around agricultural technology adoption in sub-Saharan Africa, especially as they relate to religious beliefs and the advocacy of religious leaders in the region. Dr. Brenton began by talking about his background in agricultural/nutritional anthropology and policy,which...
Background: This telephone conversation between Robin Denney, Katherine Marshall, Thomas Bohnett, and Hahna Fridirici took place on April 16, 2010, as part of a World Faiths Development Dialogue investigation of connections between faith and agriculture. Ms. Denney grew up on a farm and was trained as an agronomist, then decided to work as an Episcopal missionary. She worked in Liberia, and is currently based in Juba, in the southern Sudan. She describes the difficult challenges but also the...
Background: This May 2010 exchange between Dena Merriam and Katherine Marshall highlights Ms. Merriam’s pioneering work in creating a Global Initiative for women that centers on women. She recounts how she has come to see women's spiritual voices as critical to global peace, and why their voices and the agendas and energy they reflect result in differences in approach and outcome. Her initiative has taken shape over the past decade, born of the glaring gap in women's roles at the pivotal...
Background: In this April 2010 telephone and email exchange with Katherine Marshall, Wendy Tyndale recalls how she came to be engaged with the start-up of the World Faiths Development Dialogue in 1998 and reflects on the experiences, especially in Central America, that inspired her interest in issues for women’s roles in peace. Over her long career as a journalist and leader in Christian Aid, Tyndale was often and deeply exposed to conflict situations, especially in Central America. Mayans...
A Discussion with Reverend Wisdom Shelter Ameku, Executive Director, Good News for Africa Ministries
Background: In the following discussion, which took place between Reverend Ameku and Lillie Marshall in Ghana, the Reverend recounts his life and explores his personal motivation for entrepreneurial advocacy work. He also shares his vision of its purpose and direction and sketches the partnership arrangements that allow his work to advance. The interview was conducted at the First Baptist Preparatory School and Orphanage in Aflao, Ghana where Reverend Ameku is currently the Executive...
Background: As part of the Foreign Policy Practitioners Interview Series, Dr. Thomas Farr interviewed Elliott Abrams, former member and Chairman of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and current Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Washington Office. In this interview, Abrams speaks about how his professional and religious experience led to his involvement with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Additionally,...
Background:This telephone conversation between Robert Paarlberg, Katherine Marshall, Thomas Bohnett, Claudia Zambra, and Hahna Fridirici took place on January 27, 2010 as part of a review of links between agriculture and faith undertaken by the World Faiths Development Dialogue, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The discussion focuses on the GMO debates, with special reference to Africa. Paarlberg situates the debate within a larger and polarized debate about “Green...
Background: This discussion took place over telephone between Father Gabriel Je and Michael Bodakowski as part of preparation for a consultation on "Global Development and Faith-inspired Organizations in Southeast Asia" held December 14-15, 2009 in Phnom Penh. In this interview, Father Je speaks about his development work in Cambodia, his focus on the disabled, the importance of education, and the inspiration that faith provides to work for the poor. Father Je discusses the recent influx of...
Background: The context for this discussion is preparation for a consultation on faith and development in Southeast Asia, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on December 14-15, 2009. The consultation was an endeavor of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD), the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, with support from the Luce Foundation, and the University of Cambodia. It aimed to take stock of the wide range of ongoing work by different organizations...
Background: Gunnar Stålsett pursues world peace through many routes and he is a leading global advocate for international development and for engaging religious communities on social justice and solidarity issues. In this interview he speaks about his long and varied career, above all through this lens of peace and social justice.
Background: This discussion took place in preparation for a consultation on faith and development in Asia held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on December 14-15, 2009, an endeavor of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, with support from the Luce Foundation. Its aim was to take stock of the wide range of ongoing work by different organizations that are, in varying ways, inspired by religious faith; but...
Background: Homa Sabet Tavangar's new book, Growing up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World, explores imperatives and opportunities that go with living in today's plural societies. Her multi-faith and international background inspired her to research and write the book. The special challenges of applying principles of human rights at the level of child-rearing are the focus of this interview, as are the broader implications of Homa's experience and insights, including her...
Background: Cornelio Sommaruga held many leadership posts over a long career, including in the Swiss Diplomatic Service, president of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), and President of Initiatives of Change (IofC). Since his formal retirement from the ICRC in 1999, he has headed numerous nongovernmental organizations and undertaken several public service tasks. In this interview, he reflects on his career and above all questions how, across his different challenges,...
You have long been a vocal leader within the Catholic Church, and among religious leaders more broadly, on humanitarian and development issues. How did you come to those concerns?
It's hard to know where to start. I think perhaps there were two things that in a very special way brought me to this kind of a life. The first was the vocation that I found in the priesthood, because the priesthood is a life that hopefully demands that you look out for the poor, the handicapped, the stranger, and...
Background: Dr. Kim Hourn Kao was born in Cambodia and educated in the United States. He received his B.A. in Asian Studies from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. After completing his B.A., Kao went on to earn masters in International Affairs and Political Science, as well as earning a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii. As a scholar and a diplomat, he has made various important contributions to both Cambodia and ASEAN. Kao is the president and founder of the University...
Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed Rev. Arkanjelo Wani Lemi, who currently serves as a pastor of the African Inland Church of Yei, Sudan. In this interview, Arkanjelo speaks about the challenges of reconciliation in Africa and his work with various relief and development organizations. He also discusses the multi-ethnic nature of the African Inland Church Sudan.
Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed Emmanuel Sebit, S.J., who was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in 2002 and runs a civic education program and an HIV/AIDS awareness program. In this interview, Sebit provides a Catholic view on the challenges of reconciliation in Yei. He also discusses the role of the Catholic Church in promoting peace during the decades-long conflict.
Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed Isaac Moro, who joined RECONCILE International in 2008 and currently serves as the Head Librarian in the newly constructed library and resource center at the RECONCILE offices in Yei, Sudan. In this interview, Moro speaks about his personal story and shares his hopes and vision for his work with RECONCILE International. He also highlights challenges posed by corruption, tribalism, and lack of...
A Discussion with Cosmas Martin Abugo, Administrator for the RECONCILE Peace Institute in Yei, Sudan
May 28, 2009
Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed Cosmas Martin Abugo, who currently serves as Administrator for the RECONCILE Peace Institute. In this interview, Abugo speaks to the challenges that Southern Sudan currently faces, projecting how this situation will change in the future and sharing what type of work RECONCILE International has been doing to move toward a better future. He also specifically highlights reconciliation practices...
A Discussion with Kazuyuki Sasaki, Planning and Development Officer for REACH Organisation in Rwanda
May 25, 2009
Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed Kazuyuki Sasaki, a Japanese expatriate living in Rwanda since 2005, who is currently the Planning and Development Officer for REACH Organization in Rwanda. In this interview, Sasaki speaks about REACH's work in Rwanda promoting restorative justice. He also discusses how his previous career in development work piqued his interest in reconciliation and peacebuilding.
Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed Rev. Philbert Kalisa, an ordained minister of the Anglican Church, who is the founder and director of REACH Organisation in Rwanda. In this interview, Kalisa comments on his role within REACH and shares his opinion on how the work of the organization has been carried out thus far. He also discusses the role of churches in promoting reconciliation in Rwanda today.
The Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE in Cambodia does remarkable work and HOPE worldwide prides itself on managing and “growing” this enterprise. How did you get started?
The hospital, which will very soon (a matter of weeks) care for its one millionth patient, is a triumph of interfaith cooperation and partnership. The project came about and has developed through the cooperation of a Jewish journalist, a Japanese spiritual entrepreneur, and a Christian world development organization, working...
The hospital, which will very soon (a matter of weeks) care for its one millionth patient, is a triumph of interfaith cooperation and partnership. The project came about and has developed through the cooperation of a Jewish journalist, a Japanese spiritual entrepreneur, and a Christian world development organization, working...
Background: Rajmohan Gandhi, the President of Initiatives of Change International (IofC) and the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, reflects in this interview on his more than 50-year association with IofC; he first met Moral Rearmament, as the organization was then known, in Scotland in 1956. Gandhi sees IofC's work as well as his own as intimately connected to his grandfather's vision of social change; both are grounded in commitment, discipline, and courage. The simplicity of the idea behind...
Background: Thomas Getman, until March 2009 the director of international relations for World Vision, traced his career working for President Gerald Ford, in the U.S. Senate, and then for 25 years with World Vision in South Africa, Palestine, and Geneva. Getman talked about the gradual movement of World Vision, which has traditionally been a Christian-inspired organization, towards a pluralistic organization fueled by the social justice and humanitarian impulses of people of a range of faith...
Background: Inspired as a child by the “heart to God, hand to man” values of the Salvation Army, Daniel Starrett has been working for 36 years in the Army, and is now the Executive Director of the organization's World Service Office in the US He spoke of the Army's founding in the early days of the industrial revolution in the U.K., and explained the logic behind the organization's “military” structure. The Salvation Army sees healthy families as the building blocks of society, and Starrett...
Background: Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini, of the Diocese of San Marcos in Guatemala, highlights the many challenges facing contemporary Guatemala through the prism of his experience in the rural agricultural district of San Marcos. These challenges include barriers that keep the poor from owning land; drug trafficking and organized crime; violent crime; child malnutrition; and a marginalized indigenous population. Bishop Ramazzini sees these challenges stemming from a crisis of coherence in the...
Background: In this discussion, just prior to the Antigua Berkley Center/WFDD consultation on faith-inspired organizations in Latin America, Carol Lancaster reflected on her engagement with development issues as a practitioner working with USAID and as an academic. She describes her work on the roles of U.S. evangelical churches in development activities in Latin America, and particularly in Guatemala. Her aim is to understand better the appeal of evangelical churches to indigenous...
Click here for the Spanish translation.
Background: This discussion between Katherine Marshall, Brady Walkinshaw, and Elías Szczytnicki took place as part of preparatory work for a January 30th-31st, 2009 consultation in Antigua, Guatemala on the role played by faith-based organizations in development work. In the interview, Mr. Szczytnicki shares how he developed a keen interest and expertise in interfaith dynamics. He offers his opinion on how religious organizations and governments across...
Background: This discussion between Katherine Marshall, Brady Walkinshaw, and Elías Szczytnicki took place as part of preparatory work for a January 30th-31st, 2009 consultation in Antigua, Guatemala on the role played by faith-based organizations in development work. In the interview, Mr. Szczytnicki shares how he developed a keen interest and expertise in interfaith dynamics. He offers his opinion on how religious organizations and governments across...
Background: Schuyler Thorup has been directly involved in international humanitarian relief and development for nearly two decades. Through Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the United States Catholic community, Schuyler has served in a variety of capacities in Angola, Zimbabwe, Peru, Armenia, Malawi and the U.S. As the Guatemala-based Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Schuyler is currently responsible for overseeing CRS' programs...
Background: Dr. Zilda Arns Neumann, the founder and president of Pastoral da Criança, died in the Haiti earthquake on January 12, 2010. This January 2009 exchange with Katherine Marshall focused on her work and inspiration, and on her broad concept of peace and priorities. A pediatric and sanitary doctor, she was the founder and president of Pastoral da Criança -Children's Pastoral; founder and national coordinator of the Senior Citizens' Pastoral, social action organisms of the National...
Background: In this discussion, which took place on December 20, 2008 as part of the Berkley Center's series on Practitioners and Faith-Inspired Development, Swami Agnivesh shares how his background and personal struggles have influenced his leadership in India. His participation in the Arya Samaj movement greatly changed his perception of the India he grew up in, leading him to co-found the Arya Sabha political party to work for political change. In this interview, Swami Agvinesh discusses...
Background: Mario Giro began working as a youth-oriented community organizer for the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay organization based in Rome, and is now the Director for International Affairs for the organization. Giro talked about the Community's central role in fostering peace to Mozambique, and how that experience informed the organization's approach to conflict resolution. The keys to the Community's success in this area, Giro said, are its patience and humility. He discussed...
Background: Originally from Australia, Mark Webster was country director for ADRA Nepal before assuming his current role at ADRA International as Bureau Chief for Program Management. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) was created by the Seventh-day Adventist church to follow Christ's example by being a voice for, serving, and partnering with those in need. Mr. Webster and the Program Management team oversee all the United States government funded grants and are responsible for...
Background: Since 2005, Tom Jones has worked as the Ambassador-at-Large in the CEO's office of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) where he represents HFHI and its CEO to outside groups. He has represented HFHI in the ONE Campaign, InterAction, and as a leader in the new HFHI Advocacy Initiative. Presently, he leads the HFHI Interfaith Exploration. Prior to his tenure with HFHI, Jones served as pastor of large Presbyterian congregations in Kentucky and Florida, and was senior pastor of...
Background: Dele Oluwu, after working in academia and then in development with the UN and African Development Bank, came to the Netherlands in 1995 to work at the Institute of Social Studies at the Hague. While working there he noted a surprising deficit of active churches in the region, and began planting parishes with other like-minded individuals in the Netherlands. To date Olowu has founded 130 churches in Europe. The interview talked about evangelization in the context of a predominantly...
Background: Audu Grema, Regional Coordinator of the United Kingdom's Department for International Development Nigeria Northern Office in Kano State, was a student of agriculture in Nigeria and the U.K. who went into development as a way to improve the lives of farmers in his home country. One focus of the interview was on Grema's experiences with religious leaders in northern Nigeria influencing public perceptions about development interventions. In one anecdote, he recalled how Islamic...
Background: This discussion between Husnul Amin and Brady Walkinshaw took place on June 23, 2008 as part of preparatory work for a June 24-25, 2008 consultation in the Hague on roles of faith-inspired organizations in development. In the interview, Mr. Amin shares how he came to research the links between poverty, social development, and religious education in the Islamic world. He also relates how his own experiences in Pakistan have shaped his view on the relationship between Islam and...
Background: Jacques Dinan is currently the Executive Secretary of Caritas Africa, the President of Caritas Mauritius, a Member of the Executive Committee of Caritas Internationalis, a Senior Public Relations Consultant in Mauritius, and the CEO of his own company, Infocom Limited. After receiving a BS degree in Physics at the University of Manchester in the 1960s, Dinan worked in the teaching profession and contributed to pioneering work related to radio and television broadcasting in...
Background: Peter Grant has been the International Director of Tearfund, an organization which works to alleviate poverty and provide humanitarian relief in disaster situations, since 2005. Grant talked about his own faith background, and about the way in which Tearfund's evangelical Christian orientation influences its advocacy, hiring practices, and role in the development community. He spoke about the priority that Tearfund places on working with local churches, and raised some of the...
Background: This interview was conducted between Professor Omer Caha and Brady Walkinshaw took place by email as part of preparations for a June 24, 2008 consultation in the Hague on "Global Development and Faith-Inspired Organizations in Europe and Africa." In this discussion, Professor Caha reflects on his background and the dynamics of NGOs in Turkey that he noticed as a student. He comments on charity and faith-based organizations, Islam and Turkey, and the ways secularism and faith do or...
Background: Father Robert J. Vitillo is a full-time Special Advisor to Caritas on HIV and AIDS, directing the Caritas Internationalis response to wide-ranging aspects of the global pandemic in various parts of the world. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Prior to joining the staff of USCCB, Father Vitillo was Caritas Internationalis delegate to the United Nations in New York and...
Background: This conversation between Noureddine Benmalek and Katherine Marshall, originally spoken in French, was part of a December 17, 2007 symposium at Georgetown University's Doha Campus on "Global Development and Faith-Inspired Organizations in the Muslim World." In this interview, Mr. Benmalek speaks about his interest in non-violent Islamism. In addition to explaining his own views on Islamism, Mr. Benmalek offers insight into how Islamist organizations oriented toward development...
Background: In preparation for a December 17, 2007 symposium in Doha on global development and faith-inspired organizations in the Muslim World, Katherine Marshall and Hady Amr met again to discuss Mr. Amr's recent work. In this interview, Mr. Amr reflects on his work at the Brookings Doha Center and the role of faith in the public square in both the United States and in the Muslim World. He discusses Islamic social movements and reemphasizes the potential and necessity of a partnership...
Background: Saad Eddin Ibrahim is a Professor of Sociology at the American University in Cairo and a prominent human rights activist in Egypt. Ibrahim founded the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies in Cairo and the Arab Organization for Human Rights. He has been criticized for accepting international funds to promote civil society and election monitoring in Egypt, and for suggesting that the United States should condition its aid to Egypt on improvements in the country's human rights...
Background: Dr. Hany El-Banna is Co-Founder and President of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), an international relief and development organization that aims to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the world's poorest. He is a member of the Three Faiths Forum and was selected to be a member in the World Economic Forum's Community of West-Islam Dialogue (C-100). El Banna is also a trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee and a member of the Advisory Group to the International Department of...
Background: Dr. Hasan Ali Yurtsever is President of the Rumi Forum, an organization founded in 1999 to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue, and teaches in the Math department at Georgetown. He participated in the symposium on “Global Development and Faith-Inspired Organizations in the Muslim World,” co-sponsored by the Berkley Center, in December 2007. Yurtsever has a long history of participation in the Gulen Movement, which began in Turkey under Fethullah Gulen and has spread...
Background: This conversation between David Beckmann and Katherine Marshall took place in the context of preparatory work for an April 16, 2007 conference at Georgetown University on the role of faith-based organizations in development. In the following discussion, Mr. Beckmann shares how his personal faith has shaped his work in both secular and faith-based institutions. He also outlines the work of Bread for the World, a Christian organization aimed at mobilizing citizens and the US...
Background: Stephen Weir is the Vice President for Global Development and Support at Habitat for Humanity International. Previously, he worked in Bangkok where he was Vice President for Habitat's Asia programs. He is an architect by profession. In April 2007 he participated in the Symposium sponsored by the Berkley Center on “Faith-Inspired Organizations and Global Development: US and International Perspectives.” In this interview, Weir draws from his experiences to explain how...
Background: In this conversation between Douglas Bassett and Katherine Marshall, Mr. Bassett provides a picture of the identity, purpose, and approaches driving Compassion International and several other Evangelical Protestant Christian organizations. He shares how his experience working in Honduras on a hurricane relief trip led him to seek a career where he could work for social justice and address human needs “in all of their dimensions.” He also addresses some of the challenges...
Background: This conversation between William Recant and Katherine Marshall took place as part of the preparatory work for an April 16, 2007 conference at Georgetown University on the role of faith-based organizations in development. The conference was part of a joint Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and Luce Foundation project on religion and international relations.
Background: This discussion between Hady Amr and Katherine Marshall took place as part of the preparatory work for an April 16, 2007 conference on faith-based organizations and global development policy. In this interview, Mr. Amr highlights the need for further exploration of the dynamics of faith-based organizations, and how they differ from their secular counterparts. He speaks about his own experiences working with Islam and development in the Middle East, and concludes that faith is "the...
Background: In the following discussion, Douglas Balfour, CEO of Geneva Global, describes the organization's mission to provide advice to donors seeking to maximize the impact of their contributions to development assistance. The backbone of Geneva Global's advice is its on-the-ground research, which often leads it to faith-inspired organizations, "often the best value in town.” He talks about how he has found fears of proselytization overblown by secular organizations and interests....