Berkley Center

Pinpointing corruption’s perils, measuring its gravity, and pursuing governance strategies and action programs are high priorities in contemporary development work. Over the past two decades, citizen outrage, increasingly channeled via social media, has spurred dynamic civil society movements with integrity as their focus. Fighting corruption and promoting good governance calls for pragmatic, technical approaches and effective organization. However, values, ethics, and morality also must be involved. These developments suggest that religious communities and leaders should be part of anti-corruption efforts more they are today. This brief highlights ideas for ways to engage religions (in all their dimensions) in fighting corruption. It draws on the Berkley Center’s 2009 report on faith and good governance (available here) and on a December 2008 Global Ethics article: “Ancient and Contemporary Wisdom and Practice on Governance as Religious Leaders Engage in International Development.”

Photo courtesy of Lars Plougmann