GHD Skills Clinic: Strategic Religious Engagement with Katherine Marshall
Monday, September 28, 2026
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. EDT
Location:
Mortara Center Building Map
Twenty-six years ago, World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn set things abuzz when he proposed a new initiative to reach out to religious communities, building bridges and partnerships. The backdrop was a virtual silence on how religious actors were involved in development work but also some quite penetrating critiques of classic development approaches
Professor Katherine Marshall shared strategies for engaging and "rightsizing" religious actors in development and humanitarian work. The workshop focused on two strategic religious engagement (SRE) projects currently underway, centered at the Berkley Center: one focused on four countries; the other on U.S. policy, especially in the aftermath of dramatic changes to U.S. foreign aid. What have we learned? How does evidence come into the picture? And how to move toward approaches that navigate political, social, and economic complexities.
The event was open to current School of Foreign Service graduate students and GHD certificate students. Coffee and light breakfast was provided during the event.
This event was organized by the Global Human Development Program (GHD) and co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.
