China has undergone a profound paradigm shift in its approach to economic development since its policy of 'opening and reform' was first implemented in 1978. It has shifted rapidly from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one, speeding up its economic development through foreign investment, a more open market, access to advanced technologies and management experience. It is notable that its economic growth, marked by annual double-digit rises in GDP over two decades, has lifted more than 400 million people (...) out of extreme poverty. Today, the number of Chinese billionaires has ballooned, but so has the rich-poor gap. China's 'development' has to address this urgent issue. This article examines, based on the experience of Amity Foundation, one of China's largest faith-based organisations, how religious organisations are being harnessed by the state to redress the wealth gap arising from 'development'. The process of social engagement has empowered FBOs, made their presence more accepted and appreciated in Chinese society and contributed to the creation of more social and political space for a nascent civil society. The author argues that FBOs must provide visible, viable and replicable alternatives in their social practices that are firmly rooted in their faith, if they are to make any sustainable impact on the development debate. (shrink)

This article reflects on the increasing roles of faith-based organisations (FBOs) and individual followers in the provision of health services in Zimbabwe within the context of declining capabilities of state-funded and state-owned health facilities. In colonial and post-colonial Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular, FBOs have consistently contributed to the provision of public services and social security. We contend that state fragilities in the Zimbabwean political landscape result in severe public service delivery deficits that are often (...) filled by FBOs and individual followers. The implications for FBOs and individual followers are twofold. Firstly, the increased involvement of FBOs in the production and provision of public services such as education and health services afford FBOs with opportunities and spaces to evangelise. Secondly, and on the downward side, the provision of health services can often be expensive and diverts attention from the core business of these religious organisations. The article reveals that in the context of economic and governance crises, FBOs play an increasingly momentous role in providing health care services in Zimbabwe. The article focuses on Zimbabwe during the crisis periods of 2007–2009 and 2018 up to the current (2022) socio-economic and political declines, poor governance, and the subsequent fragilities in the state.Contribution: Faith-based organisations assume increasing roles in the provision of health services in place of failing states. Those increased roles provide FBOs opportunities to evangelise. However, FBOs are not a sustainable replacement because they become afflicted with the same financial challenges that bedevil the state. (shrink)

This year is the twentieth anniversary of the germinal report ‘Faith in the City’ which first drew attention to the concerns of religious agencies whose remit is to tackle growing multiple deprivation in the UK. Since then, the role of faith‐based organisations (FBOs) as mediators of welfare provision, urban regeneration and community development has attracted little attention from sociologists despite claims that such roles are becoming increasingly important. Successive UK governments have highlighted the potential of religious (...) congregations in enhancing social capital and promoting social cohesion. The seminal work of Greg Smith (University of East London) emphasises this theme while other sociological literature in this area (mainly American, e.g., Putnam) argues that FBOs in the community provide a degree of social support and relationship structures that accumulate as social capital resources. This discussion paper is an attempt to open up the debate on the ways in which FBOs can develop and enhance the social capital value of local community groups. (shrink)

Religious outlooks are combinations of theological, moral and political principles, individuated in a medium-grained way. Distinguish between religious outlooks that are friendly to the fundamental political principles characteristic of liberal democracy, and those that are hostile to, or knowingly subversive of, them. I claim that (1) in some respects, but not all, governments are justified in discriminating against 'hostile' religious outlooks, but (2) governments should not intentionally favour some 'friendly' ones over others, and (3) governments should respect all 'friendly' (...) class='Hi'>faith-based organisations with which it deals, but may on various grounds favour some over others. (shrink)

Faith-based Organisations have been at the forefront of a growing interest of the intersection between religion and development. Their value has been recognised as both pragmatic and, perhaps more contentiously, also 'spiritual' in nature because of advantages arising from faith itself. For many FBOs, religion is far more than an 'essential component of identity … it is a source of well-being'. In this manner, FBOs challenge the modernist assumptions of traditional development theory, which view the spiritual (...) and physical domains as separate. In fact, for some FBOs, 'spiritual faith provides the fuel for action'. This paper reports on an aspect of the empirical findings of a South African study and explores both the way in which Christian FBOs understand their Christian identity and the way in which they articulate this through their use of scripture as a motivating or an envisioning tool. (shrink)

The importance of the spiritual dimension in the lives of people living in conditions of poverty and social exclusion and the often-critical role of faith-based organisations has gained increasing relevance in development research and practice. A growing line of research focuses on how to integrate the faith dimension into the evaluation of social programmes and on quantifying the effects of faith. The objective of this article is to propose a framework for integrating a spiritual dimension (...) into the design and practice of impact evaluation by using the concept of integral human development. Integral human development emerged within the Catholic social tradition, but is not specific to it. It is a perspective on human development that integrates the material and spiritual, recognises the interdependence between humans and their environment or territory and demands change at both the individual and collective levels. This framework is then applied to the design of an impact evaluation of a faith-based programme that accompanies people with drug and alcohol addictions in Argentina. The article highlights the following characteristics of an integral impact evaluation: the interaction between multiple well-being dimensions; the use of knowledge and methods of analysis from multiple disciplines; the importance of understanding the diverse pathways to improvements in well-being; the assessment of the spiritual dimension through changes in one's relationships with oneself, others and the environment; and the importance of assessing personal change within the context of social and community transformation. (shrink)

Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) have been at the forefront of a growing interest of the intersection between religion and development. Their value has been recognised as both pragmatic (such as reaching the poorest at the grassroots level and encouraging civil society and advocacy) and, perhaps more contentiously, also ‘spiritual’ in nature because of advantages arising from faith itself (such as hope, meaning, purpose and transcendental power). For many FBOs, religion is far more than an ‘essential component of (...) identity … it is a source of well-being’. In this manner, FBOs challenge the modernist assumptions of traditional development theory, which view the spiritual and physical domains as separate. In fact, for some FBOs, ‘spiritual faith provides the fuel for action’. This paper reports on an aspect of the empirical findings of a South African study and explores both the way in which Christian FBOs understand their Christian identity and the way in which they articulate this through their use of scripture as a motivating or an envisioning tool. (shrink)

The importance of the spiritual dimension in the lives of people living in conditions of poverty and social exclusion and the often-critical role of faith-based organisations has gained increasing relevance in development research and practice. A growing line of research focuses on how to integrate the faith dimension into the evaluation of social programmes and on quantifying the effects of faith. The objective of this article is to propose a framework for integrating a spiritual dimension (...) into the design and practice of impact evaluation by using the concept of integral human development. Integral human development emerged within the Catholic social tradition, but is not specific to it. It is a perspective on human development that integrates the material and spiritual, recognises the interdependence between humans and their environment or territory and demands change at both the individual and collective levels. This framework is then applied to the design of an impact evaluation of a faith-based programme that accompanies people with drug and alcohol addictions in Argentina. The article highlights the following characteristics of an integral impact evaluation: the interaction between multiple well-being dimensions; the use of knowledge and methods of analysis from multiple disciplines; the importance of understanding the diverse pathways to improvements in well-being; the assessment of the spiritual dimension through changes in one's relationships with oneself, others and the environment; and the importance of assessing personal change within the context of social and community transformation. (shrink)

After completing or dropping out of school, many young people leave their family households and in some cases they move from rural or semi-rural areas to urban centres. Faith-based organisations in major cities in South Africa sometimes act as a safety net for marginalised youth, especially as government departments are overburdened and not addressing all the needs of youth at the margins. This qualitative research is based on an analysis of individual and focus group interviews undertaken (...) with young people living in the central areas of Pretoria. It is shown how families and FBOs engage as separate, although at times not unrelated, entities in the lives of youth at the margins. In certain cases, the FBO became an institution of last resort and only in rare cases is a certain synergy achieved between FBOs and families. (shrink)

For the last 20 years, there has been a growing interest in researching faith-based organisations in international development. Much of the research on FBOs tries to analyse whether faith has a positive or negative impact on development. This often leads to contradictory results. This case study shows insights into tensions that FBO staff face on issues such as gender, evangelism and donor pressure. The results show that the picture of faith’s role in development is much (...) more nuanced than portrayed by much of the existing literature. The conclusion offers recommendations for policy makers and member care personnel. (shrink)

The issue of communicated accountability is particularly important in Faith-Based Charity Organisations as the donated funds and use of those funds are often meant to fulfil religious obligations for the well-being of society. Integrating Stewart’s (1984) ladder of accountability with the Statement of Recommended Practice guidance for charities, this paper examines communicated accountability practices of Muslim and Christian Charity Organisations in England and Wales. Our content analysis results indicate communicated accountability to be generally limited, focusing on (...) providing basic descriptive information rather than judgement-based information. Our interviews with trustees and preparers of Trustee Annual Reports in Muslim Charity Organisations identified the reasons being due to high donor trust and consequently weak demand by stakeholders for the latter type of information, as well as internal organisational issues related to the organisational structure and culture, lack of internal professional expertise and high accountability cost. (shrink)

The ‘new school system’ described in the Schools White Paper (DfE, 2010) presents religious organisations with two interesting opportunities. The first is an opportunity to play a significantly enhanced role in the management of faith‐based schools. The second is an opportunity to rethink quite radically the content of their curricula. In this article I advance a proposal for the consideration of religious organisations: that they take up the opportunity to develop innovative, religiously distinctive curricula whilst eschewing (...) the activity of confessional religious education. I show how non‐confessional, faith‐based curricula are possible and offer some suggestions about what they might include. (shrink)

The ‘new school system’ described in the Schools White Paper (DfE, ) presents religious organisations with two interesting opportunities. The first is an opportunity to play a significantly enhanced role in the management of faith-based schools. The second is an opportunity to rethink quite radically the content of their curricula. In this article I advance a proposal for the consideration of religious organisations: that they take up the opportunity to develop innovative, religiously distinctive curricula whilst eschewing (...) the activity of confessional religious education. I show how non-confessional, faith-based curricula are possible and offer some suggestions about what they might include. (shrink)

After describing the challenges, myths, exclusions and opportunities of urban regeneration, this article explores the potential interface between faith-based action and different forms of urban regeneration. Focusing on different South African cities, it considers how faith-based action could participate in regenerative urban work. Faith-based action will refer to the varied responses of churches and faith-based organisations to urban challenges and transitions. It interrogates whether faith-based action only represents many similar (...) approaches that address urban problems superficially without mediating long-term, systemic change, or whether it indeed contributes to urban transformation in the sense of radical inclusivity and socio-structural spatial justice. Finally, it considers socio-theological sources that could potentially ground urban faith-based action theologically – such as an urban spirituality, an understanding of regeneration as integral liberation and mobilising socio-spiritual capital – whilst making a distinctive contribution to the processes of socially inclusive urban regeneration. (shrink)

For most people on our planet, spiritual values are vital in driving communitarian behaviour. It is becoming increasingly clear that a lasting and effective social commitment must consider cultural, sociological and religious dimensions. In particular, the current environmental crisis has demonstrated how effectively religious communities have mobilised to respond to climate change. With their emphasis on wisdom, social cohesion and interrelationships, religions can be a strategic player in ensuring effective integral human development. The ecological crisis is not just an ethical (...) dilemma but an ontological and theological matter that demands both a new way of thinking and a new way of being. Think differently and act differently! The United Nations (UN) and many governments are increasingly recognising the vital contribution of religious leaders and organisations in political processes, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, hypostasised in the Faith Plans for People and Planet programme, representing the most prominent and boldest environmental initiative to date by the global faith community. -/- Contribution: Today we realise that a combination of science and spirituality can engage and empower an array of stakeholders from different cultural and religious backgrounds. This article addresses the question of an integrated ecology by selecting appropriate and recent literature from mainstream religions and the subsequent interpretation and application. (shrink)

This study examines whether and how a CEO’s personal traits (gender, altruism, age, and founder) influence organizational performance. Building upon upper echelons theory, this study develops a conceptual framework that gives explicit recognition to how the institutional environment surrounding the CEOs shapes their characteristics, which, in turn, are reflected in the different organizational strategies and performance. This study moves beyond the existing focus on for-profit corporations and conducts the empirical analysis on a novel, hand-collected, longitudinal dataset of 1342 firm-year observations (...) of 128 faith-based charity organizations operating in a major developing, Muslim-majority country in the period 1996–2019. This study reveals that those faith-based charity organizations led by CEOs with specific personal traits (woman, altruistic, young, and founder) exhibit better organizational performance. Importantly, CEOs’ personal traits, however, do not have a uniform, systematic effect; their effect is generally strengthened when the CEO is also the founder of the faith-based charity organization, given the greater latitude of managerial discretion that a CEO has in managing the organization. Our findings have important implications for individual charity organizations; their board of directors; and their stakeholders, in particular the communities they serve, as well as the whole society where they operate. (shrink)

Although the demarginalisation of youths is an international concern, South African youths are viewed by various scholars and policy documents as a particularly vulnerable and marginalised group. It becomes essential to understand what characterises their marginalisation in order to find innovative ways to work towards their demarginalisation. In this article we reflect on current faith-based concerns and compare this with the specific characteristics of the marginalisation of young people. In an effort to contribute to the development of a (...) strategy towards demarginalisation, we will explore the key features of the Circle of Courage in terms of the principles of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. We will further propose the inclusion of Ubuntu principles in the practical application of the Circle of Courage for churches and faith-based organisations in demarginalising youth in the South African context. (shrink)

An increasing number of non-governmental organisations provide humanitarian assistance, including healthcare. Some faith-based NGOs combine proselytising work with humanitarian aid. This can result in ethical dilemmas that are rarely discussed in the literature. The article explores several ethical issues, using four generic activities of faith-based NGOs: It is discriminatory to deny aid to a needy community because it provides less opportunity for proselytising work. Allocating aid to a community with fewer health needs but potential for (...) proselytising work is unjust, since it neither maximises welfare nor assists the most needy . Faith-based-NGOs may state that proselytising work combined with humanitarian assistance improves spiritual wellbeing and overall benefit. However, proselytising work creates religious doubts, which could transiently decrease wellbeing. Proselytising work is unlikely to be a perceived need of the population and, if carried out without consent, breaches the principle of autonomy. Such work also exploits the vulnerability of disaster victims. Governments that decline the assistance of a faith-based NGO involved in proselytising work may deprive the needy of aid. Three strategies are proposed: Increase knowledge to empower communities, individuals and governments; information on NGOs could be provided through an accessible register that discloses objectives, funding sources and intended spiritual activities. Clearly demarcate between humanitarian aid from proselytising work, by setting explicit guidelines for humanitarian assistance. Strengthen self-regulation by modifying the Code of Conduct of the Red Cross to state criteria for selecting communities for assistance and procedures for proselytising work. (shrink)

This article analyses how faith-based civil society organisations have advocated the value-add of faith to governmental and non-governmental development actors in the highly secularised context of the Netherlands. Its social value lies in the space for reflexivity it opens up on how the religious and the secular are entangled in the field of development through shifting the gaze towards secularised Europe. Its academic value lies in how it combines the study of faith and development, with (...) a critical analysis of the secular formations in which much of the thinking around faith and development is shaped. The article builds on an academic study of and long-term engagement with the Dutch non-governmental organisation (NGO)-based Knowledge Centre Religion and Development (KCRD), offering a critical overview of the KCRD’s work between 2006 and 2016. Data were gathered through interviews, document analysis and participant observation as part of the academic research, as well as informal observations and analysis through professional engagement. The KCRD, because of its institutional setting, had to adopt an instrumental approach towards the role of religion in development, which prevented it from challenging the reigning secular paradigm in development and its biases towards faith-based actors. The article will recommend that future initiatives on faith and development more consciously anchor their approach to faith in their institutional practices and mainstream discussions on the European continent. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 25.2 (2001) 314-334 [Access article in PDF] The Epistemology of Cognitive Literary Studies F. Elizabeth Hart I Literary scholars have begun incorporating the insights of cognitive science into literary studies, bringing to bear on questions of literary experience the results of explorations within a wide range of fields that define today's cognitive science. The investigation of the human mind and its reasoning processes encompasses a rich (...) variety of empirical and speculative disciplines, including cognitive psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, evolutionary psychology, developmental psychology, computer science, philosophy, and anthropology. These disciplines are all related to one another by the questions they ask about the brain and mind and the ground they cover in staking out their research agendas; but each also contributes uniquely in terms of individual scope and focus. Literary critics, eavesdropping on this maturing coalition, are now producing critical works that apply cognitive research to a similarly impressive range of literary concerns, with results so far that seem to span the gap between traditional and more contemporary literary critical approaches.All such criticism is dependent on scientific studies of the brain and mind and so accepts axiomatically some degree of epistemological efficacy in scientific empiricism. But this acceptance has not been naive or uncritical and has, in fact, been at times carefully qualified by critics' sensitivity to debate--to the lack of consensus among cognitive scientists, and to the fact that cognitive science is itself in its infancy stage, with its own practitioners often openly tentative about their results and descriptive capabilities. As it happens, such debate, in recent years, has even proven beneficial for literary scholarship since an important [End Page 314] paradigm shift has taken place that now makes some aspects of cognitive science more compatible than ever with the interests of literary studies. This is because, whereas an earlier phase of cognitive science focused its energies on Artificial Intelligence and on theories of language and psychology that supported AI, grounding its theories implicitly in a metaphor of the mind as a computer, today's cognitive scientists tend to concentrate instead on the more organic metaphor of the "embodiment" of mind, that is, of the mind's substantive indebtedness to its bodily, social, and cultural contexts, and on the figurative phenomena of metaphor, metonymy, image schemata, "fields," "frames," other "integrative mental spaces" (as they are called), and the gradient structures and prototypical bases of semantic categories, all of which contribute to recasting human reason into a set of highly imaginative--not logical but figural--processes. 1 For literary theory and criticism, this shift in cognitive science toward "the body in the mind" 2 --tantamount to a wholesale rejection of philosophical rationalism--has given rise to a new kind of interdisciplinary practice, to the potential for a sincere engagement between diverse sciences and even between literature and science that stretches all the bounds of what literary scholars generally mean when they speak of being interdisciplinary (e.g., exchanges with history, art history, anthropology, film studies, sociology).In the discussion that follows, I would like to explore this new interdisciplinarity in literary studies by examining its epistemological implications. I begin with a description of the kinds of criticism now being produced under the rubric of cognitive literary criticism or--to reflect the field's scope more accurately--cognitive and cognitive-evolutionary criticism. This description is not intended as a comprehensive or evaluative survey, since in-depth review articles of extant works are available elsewhere. 3 Rather, I hope to familiarize my readers with the basic orientations of this theory and criticism so that they can grasp the epistemological relations that will become the essay's focus. To lay a further groundwork for this focus, I will review various uses of the term "cognitive" (or "cognitivism") in the scholarship and offer an analysis of its meanings, first in cognitive science and then in literary theory. Building, then, on what "cognitive" might signify for literary studies, I show how a literary approach based on today's cognitive science is uniquely situated among other approaches because of its underlying theory of human... (shrink)

Several factors related to fetal risk render it more or less acceptable in justifying constraints on the behavior of pregnant women. Risk is an unavoidable part of pregnancy and childbirth, one that women must balance against other vital personal and family interests. Two particular issues relate to the fairness of claims that pregnant women are never entitled to put their fetuses at risk: relative risks and relatives' risks. The former have been used—often spuriously—to advance arguments against activities, such as home (...) birth, that may incur risk; the latter implicate the nature of relationships in determining the acceptability of coercing or precluding activities. Motivated reasoning by clinicians and judges leads to inaccurate risk assessments, and judgments based on false claims to objectivity. Such judgments undermine the moral and legal standing of pregnant women and do not advance the interests of fetuses, pregnant women, families, or states. (shrink)

The role of faith and religion in international development cooperation is hotly debated today. The legitimacy of this role remains, however, often confided to instrumental reasons. Yet, thinking about faith and religion only in instrumental terms leaves unquestioned the possibility of a religious background of development cooperation as a practice itself and the potential role of faith through individual practitioners that operate within secular NGOs, and research and policy institutes. The aim of the present paper is therefore (...) to consider the structural role of faith and worldview in relation to agricultural development, moving beyond the discourse of instrumentality. We do this by focusing on Giller and Andersson’s political agronomy analysis of the promotion of Conservation Agriculture in Zimbabwe by the faith-based organisation ‘Foundations for Farming’. We argue that a distinction should be made between religion as a practice of believers and faith functioning as a worldview in every practice. In addition, we argue that it is helpful to distinguish between different kinds of practices involved in agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa, namely farming practice, agronomic scientific practice, and faith practice. The value of this philosophical analysis is that it challenges a dichotomous model of ‘science-based versus faith-based’ approaches to agricultural development. Furthermore, specific kinds of normativity are identified as always already functioning inside practices, rather than practices being neutral spaces that are infused with normativity by applying external ethical standards. (shrink)

Narrative inquiry in a nursing practicum One approach to creating research‐based nursing education is to think and write narratively about the daily life of a BScN program student and her teacher in diverse settings and over time. Gail, as a nurse‐teacher, and Faith, as a nursing student and now Public Health Nurse, reconstruct their teaching–learning experiences in an integrated practicum in maternal–child health services as a narrative inquiry. After presenting this reconstruction of experience at a conference on maternal (...) scholarship, further inquiry into their experiences shows how narrative inquiry matters to construction of nursing praxis and to life‐long learning as a nurse. Teaching–learning relationships are seen as a template for a student's connections to people experiencing nursing care and to other clinicians. Construction of stories to live by that take into account becoming a nurse, constructing knowledge and enacting caring–healing nursing practices is illuminated through narrative inquiry. (shrink)

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} This article aims to examine the phenomenon of social services in post-1989 Romania, underscoring the role of the religious factor in the establishment and operation of nongovernmental organisations active in the area of family and child protection/child welfare. The results are based on empirical data collected from interviews (...) with representatives of NGO-s in Iaşi that correspond to the profile of faith-based organisations and which have been included in the list of accredited providers of social services. We used an assessment grid that allowed us to highlight a number of specific characteristics to the Romanian space, found among faith-based organisations involved in the development of social and medical services. One direction that Romanian organisation took was to dilute in time the religious message and to secularise their practices under the influence of the Orthodox majority, as well as following the requirements imposed by secular donors and especially by public ones. The channelling of private resources donated to religious cults predominantly towards building and restoring establishments (churches, monasteries) rather than towards the development of social faith-based programmes aimed at vulnerable populations has caused in faith-based organisations a high level of dependency on secular donors. The process in which the practices and the discourse are secularised is accompanied by a trend towards the fragmentation of the Christian-based civil society. (shrink)

Background Planning for the next pandemic influenza outbreak is underway in hospitals across the world. The global SARS experience has taught us that ethical frameworks to guide decision-making may help to reduce collateral damage and increase trust and solidarity within and between health care organisations. Good pandemic planning requires reflection on values because science alone cannot tell us how to prepare for a public health crisis. Discussion In this paper, we present an ethical framework for pandemic influenza planning. The (...) ethical framework was developed with expertise from clinical, organisational and public health ethics and validated through a stakeholder engagement process. The ethical framework includes both substantive and procedural elements for ethical pandemic influenza planning. The incorporation of ethics into pandemic planning can be helped by senior hospital administrators sponsoring its use, by having stakeholders vet the framework, and by designing or identifying decision review processes. We discuss the merits and limits of an applied ethical framework for hospital decision-making, as well as the robustness of the framework. Summary The need for reflection on the ethical issues raised by the spectre of a pandemic influenza outbreak is great. Our efforts to address the normative aspects of pandemic planning in hospitals have generated interest from other hospitals and from the governmental sector. The framework will require re-evaluation and refinement and we hope that this paper will generate feedback on how to make it even more robust. (shrink)

Several factors related to fetal risk render it more or less acceptable in justifying constraints on the behavior of pregnant women. Risk is an unavoidable part of pregnancy and childbirth, one that women must balance against other vital personal and family interests. Two particular issues relate to the fairness of claims that pregnant women are never entitled to put their fetuses at risk: relative risks and relatives' risks. The former have been used—often spuriously—to advance arguments against activities, such as home (...) birth, that may incur risk; the latter implicate the nature of relationships in determining the acceptability of coercing or precluding activities. Motivated reasoning by clinicians and judges leads to inaccurate risk assessments, and judgments based on false claims to objectivity. Such judgments undermine the moral and legal standing of pregnant women and do not advance the interests of fetuses, pregnant women, families, or states. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education ed. by David J. Elliott, Marissa Silverman and Gary E. McPhersonCara Faith BernardDavid J. Elliott, Marissa Silverman, and Gary E. McPherson, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019)Three leading voices in music education, David J. Elliott, Marissa Silverman, and Gary E. McPherson, consistently work (...) to reconceive how music educators create and challenge the discourses of music learning and the ways in which people engage with music. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education furthers their contributions and serves as a break from the familiar and common “default philosophy of assessment” of tests, standards, regimens, and rankings to invite new ways of approaching music assessment.1 They, along with their coauthors, apply their theoretical, research, and teaching experience to examine music assessment through social praxis and how individuals and communities “deepen their growth as knowing and compassionate human beings.”2 In short, this Handbook is an invitation for music educators of all levels to reengage with their values and name them in their current and future practices.Using the current neoliberal state of education as a backdrop, Elliott, Silverman, and McPherson portray schools as spaces that yield corporate types of learning practices and assessments which “place little value on arts education.”3 Countering these realities, the diverse cadre of authors examines assessment [End Page 123] from different settings, roles, policies, and practices, organized around four themes. The first theme examines assessment through theoretical ideas including critical pedagogy, pragmatism, and Deleuzean frameworks. Next, in methodological practices, new ideas for assessment are considered through teacher evaluation, working with students with disabilities, and incorporating habits of mind. Creativity explores assessment through technological possibilities, popular music, and drawing, among others. Closing with international perspectives, the authors explore assessment through German and Scandinavian bildung/bildning, care as a driving force of assessment in South Africa, and an Iranian non-regulated perspective of assessment.Alexandra Kertz-Welzel asks: “Who decides what is assessed? How it is assessed? By whom is it assessed?”4 These questions are embraced and challenged throughout the Handbook. Instead of conceiving of assessment as something diagnostic—reaching musical benchmarks and aptitudes deemed by outside authorities—the authors welcome an epistemological shift of assessment. What might happen when music educators replace written self-assessments, quizzes, and playing tests in favor of, say, habits of mind (as Jillian Hogan and Ellen Winner describe in their chapter5) such as listening, noticing, being part of a community, persisting, expressing oneself, imagining, and making decisions? These changes might transform a community, one where students and teachers embrace music making beyond mere replication.6 The authors suggest ways of engaging in acts of subversion, resistance, care, and pragmatism to push past the product-driven view of assessment dictated by neoliberal and for-profit discourses.Historically, assessment has been contextualized, discussed, and critiqued through its practices; its purpose has been to gain information which aids in making decisions about teaching. In many contexts, particularly in the U.S., assessment practices stem from current educational policies, namely those noted in teacher evaluation systems.7 Such practices are intended to show student growth and drive instruction, to better label teaching quality and student success.8 In my own research on teacher evaluation, I found that music educators struggle with definitions and strategies of assessment; as a result, they defer to assessments based on hierarchies of musical skill and technique.9 Yet, Charlotte Danielson, a creator of many U.S. teacher evaluation frameworks, reminds that teaching “is not simply a matter of following a script of carrying out other people’s instructional designs.”10 Having to uphold the demands of assessment and evaluation forced many of the participants in my research to become compliant, even when they knew their teaching strategies were ancillary to who the students were and what they needed. They fabricated their assessments— often in the form of exit slips and inauthentic writing and musical compositional activities—to comply with policies. As a result, teachers’ values for music [End Page 124] teaching and learning were omitted from... (shrink)

The term non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has been well-known for the development of human rights, charity works and organisational developments. On the other hand, some NGOs also have their specialised roles to help the community such as in conflict resolution, cultural preservation, policy analysis and information provision. Apart from that, there are many categories of NGOs: Islamic-oriented non-governmental organisation (IONGOs), faith-based organisation (FBO), humanitarian NGOs (HNGOs) and government organised NGOs (GONGOs). However, in this research, the researchers focus on (...) how IONGOs compare with NGOs in assisting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community based on four hijrah NGOs: Persatuan Islah Movement, Persatuan Insaf Pahang, Hijrah Republique Network and Usrah Iqrak. These four NGOs were chosen because of their roles in assisting the LGBT community. In this research, the researchers adapt the qualitative research by using a case study method; phenomenological approaches and a document analysis have also been applied as well. The result shows that these four IONGOs are different from the NGOs based on the seven typologies applied: intersection, distinct, substantive, subset, co-existing, atomistic grouping and constitutive. The implications of this article highlight the fact that IONGOs are different from the LGBT NGOs in Malaysia as they focus more on spirituality and an Islamic pathway. Hence, future research should include focus group interviews with all the members in NGOs that assist the LGBT hijrah in the community. Contribution: This study contributes to LGBT hijrah community and its relationship towards the establishment of Islamic-oriented non-governmental organisation (IONGOs). (shrink)

Gender-based Violence is a huge concern in many African countries such as Zimbabwe despite the preventative and mitigatory interventions that have been proposed and implemented by various stakeholders. The interventions applied range from policies and programmes that are government initiated as well as those interventions by social actors such as non-government organisations and Faith-based Organisations like churches. Gender-based violence as a social structural issue is sustained and perpetuated by cultural norms, values and beliefs that (...) are fed by patriarchy, among other things. To effectively respond to the situation, interventions should target multiple social levels, including policy, government officials’ attitudes, individual men and women, families, community leaders and structures and social institutions such as churches. Churches are a critical community social institution that could play a pivotal role in addressing GBV. To position churches as players on public issues such as GBV, the questions that emerge are: ‘What is the role of the church in a public problem such as GBV? How could churches conceive and perform a public ministerial role that addresses GBV?’ To respond to these questions, this article employs the idea of public pastoral care as a nexus that churches could utilise in performing a community and public role function in contributing towards addressing GBV. Firstly, the article sketches the context of GBV in Zimbabwe and the various efforts to address it. Secondly, it outlines the ambivalent role of churches in GBV. Thirdly, it conceptualises the notion of public pastoral care as an approach that could be employed by churches to address GBV. Lastly, it proposes some public practical approaches that could be employed in addressing GBV by churches. (shrink)

Urban youth marginalisation became a key consideration in scholarly and policy literature in the 1990s. This entailed a shift from an emphasis on youth in relation to activism in the struggle to overcome colonial racism - popularly known as 'the struggle against apartheid' - to an emphasis on youth as the object of social inquiry and social welfare programmes. Irrespective of how we evaluate this shift, the question in this article is how urban faith communities and youth ministry research (...) are to respond to the agency of youth as dialogue partners - with a focus on social cohesion. This article explores this shift in scholarship on urban youth movements, especially for the period since 1994. It draws from the perspectives of my recent doctoral studies in constructing a creative dialogue with youth movements. The ultimate aim of this article is to provide a grounded basis for constructing a methodology for a postcolonial urban theology. In addition, it aims to inform the ongoing Youth at the Margins comparative study on the contribution of faith-based organisations to social cohesion in South Africa and Nordic Europe, with the Riverlea community, in Johannesburg, as one of the case studies. (shrink)

The paper explores the possibilities for promoting epistemic justice in a South African university setting through a participatory action-based photovoice research project in which university resea...

The study conducted in 2017, in the Cape Metropole to explore the nature of partnership between local congregations and Christian Development Organisations, entitled, ‘Enhanced partnership between local congregations and Faith-based Organisations: towards a holistic congregational praxis’ reveal that, there are enough collaboration efforts between these two entities of the church. These efforts revolve around issues, such as spiritual support, volunteerism and discipleship. The view is that, even though elements of partnership such as volunteerism, prayer and discipleship (...) are essential in the journey of development, there is a need for these efforts to be coupled by resources such as finances and expertise. Central to the argument of this paper is the view that says, enhanced partnership between local congregations and Christian Development Organisations has a potential to facilitate holistic congregational praxis. In most cases, these entities of the church are found in the same locality, and therefore need to define how they can together play a bigger and meaningful role in the transformation of their community. Bound by their faith mandate, working together as partners as opposed to competing with each other, they will find strength in each other, and portray good image of the Christian community in society. Guided by partnership ethos of trust, equality and mutual respect, they can both play a leading role in the nation-building project of South Africa. (shrink)

Religious organisations are major investors with sometimes substantial investment volumes. An important question for them is how to make investments in, and to earn returns from, companies and activities that are consistent with their religious beliefs or that even support these beliefs. Religious organisations have pioneered responsible investment. Yet little is known about their investment attitudes. This article addresses this gap by studying faith consistent investing. Based on a survey complemented by interviews, we investigate religious (...) class='Hi'>organisations’ attitudes towards responsible investment including opinions, practices and the impediments for implementing faith consistent investing. Although our results cannot be generalised because of the non-random character of our sample, six main characteristics of faith consistent investing are drawn: investing is not perceived as being in contradiction with religious values, religious values are important drivers, there is a strong community around faith consistent investing, religious investors are pioneering impact investing, implementing faith consistent investing is not without difficulties, and practices vary across regions. The survey also reveals that faith consistent investing has many commonalities with secular responsible investors. (shrink)

This book is timely considering that the beginning of the 21st century is marked by the tragedy of 9/11 which witnessed the most heinous act of terrorism committed in the land of democracy. This tragedy has changed the discourse on religion and terrorism and continues to be discussed by scholars. Experts are interested to explore the role of religion especially Christianity and Islam in the age where religious fundamentalism has been closely linked to violent acts. The book contains nine chapters (...) that are based on papers presented at the conference on ‘Faith in an Age of Terror’ organised by the Biblical Graduate School of Theology, Singapore. The editors of this book, Quek Tze-Ming and Philip E. Sattherwaite, are lecturers at the BGST. The most interesting fact about the book is that it includes the perspective of inter-faith relations especially Muslim-Christian relations and the discussion on how to move forward in a multi-cultural and diverse society such as Singapore. The other contributors to the book are from various academic disciplines such as Sociology, Political Science, and Theology. They are Kumar Ramakrishna, Robert M.Solomon, Timothy T.N Lim, Lewis E. Winkler, Kiem-Kiok Kwa, Sng Bee Bee, Benjamin Pwee, and Mohammad Alami Musa. Through the inter-disciplinary perspective of these contributors the book discusses terror acts that are inspired by religious values, and methods that religious community can adopt in trying to understand and curb them. (shrink)

In this article, we used the capability approach as normative grounding to analyse a particular faith-based intervention targeting ‘youth at the margins’ – in this instance, marginalised migrant youths from Zimbabwe living in Johannesburg, South Africa. We used Albert Street School (AS School), run by Johannesburg’s Central Methodist Church, as our case study to show how this faith-based organisation, through its focus on education, created not only spaces for marginalised youths to aspire towards a better life (...) but also practical opportunities to convert their aspirations into action. Drawing on first-hand accounts of 12 Zimbabwean migrant youths who had completed schooling at AS School, as well as of representatives of both the school and the CMC, the article first sketches the Zimbabwe-South Africa migration context post 2000. A discussion then follows of AS School as a faith-based intervention which addresses the constrained capability for education amongst marginalised migrant youths. (shrink)

Religious organisations are major investors with sometimes substantial investment volumes. An important question for them is how to make investments in, and to earn returns from, companies and activities that are consistent with their religious beliefs or that even support these beliefs. Religious organisations have pioneered responsible investment. Yet little is known about their investment attitudes. This article addresses this gap by studying faith consistent investing. Based on a survey complemented by interviews, we investigate religious (...) class='Hi'>organisations’ attitudes towards responsible investment including opinions, practices and the impediments for implementing faith consistent investing. Although our results cannot be generalised because of the non-random character of our sample, six main characteristics of faith consistent investing are drawn: investing is not perceived as being in contradiction with religious values, religious values are important drivers, there is a strong community around faith consistent investing, religious investors are pioneering impact investing, implementing faith consistent investing is not without difficulties, and practices vary across regions. The survey also reveals that faith consistent investing has many commonalities with secular responsible investors. (shrink)

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the role of the Faith Based Organizations in alleviating poverty in Western Kenya.Methodology: This study is a cross-sectional research that sought to give an examining and descriptive scrutiny of the death beliefs surrounding FBO’s activities in Emuhaya District. This study targeted Emuhaya District which has a population of 180,000 people who are members of the FBO’s. To obtain data for analysis, qualitative methods of data collection, which include in-depth oral (...) interviews, focus group discussion, observation and documentary analysis, were employed. Questionnaires were prepared and administered according to the information required from the specific groups of respondents. This study utilized secondary sources, which were derived from published books, minutes of developmental meetings in the FBO, reports of the development projects of the church, articles and records from Kenya National Archives. Data collected through the questionnaires and personal interviews, was synthesized systematically and logically compiled to determine the role of FBO in alleviating poverty in Emuhaya District. Data was coded manually and organized under different themes. The researcher then investigated the concepts of liberation and reconstruction in improving the well-being of the poor through an analysis and interpretation of the theological methods of induction (TMI).Results: Based on the findings the study concluded that the CoG-K’s teachings are largely pertinent in the development of FBO members and their participation in activities that are designed along people’s development needs. Also, the CoG-K has a role to play through her programs like Sisi kwa Sisi and Child Development Centres.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This research recommends that if Emuhaya District is to develop, it has to place the FBO teachings and theology of option for the poor at the top of the agenda and to consider it as is so often the case, as adjunct to the real core of the work that is, development. The study proposes that for the FBO to improve her input in social concerns of the people, it should reshape its theology of development so that it can fully address the plight of the poor. (shrink)

Purpose: The general objective of the study was to determine faith based group’s role in conflict solution in Nairobi slums.Methodology: The study adopted a desktop descriptive research design.Results: Based on the findings the study concluded that form and causes of conflicts that faith based groups in Nairobi slums faced; social and economic effect of role faith based group’s role in conflict solution and major challenges encountered by faith based groups had a (...) significant effect on conflict resolution in Nairobi slums. Study recommended that future studies can explore the role of individual roles in conflict solution in Nairobi slums.Policy Recommendation: This study provides implications for both policy and practice. Based on the study findings the study recommends that the government and FBOS should increase cooperation’s in their quest to foster peace in the society. (shrink)

Abstract. This article argues that a primary, contemporary product of four moments in the history of faith-based social services has been a highly selective and inconsistent use of the notion of human rights by churches and church leaders. Churches still occasionally reference a communitarian sense of human rights and public good but now more commonly use the rhetoric of individual rights to contest specific political positions and social policies in the arena of the social service agencies these churches (...) sponsor. Changing church views of human nature are not sweeping changes, but small changes of degree that still have the power to powerfully reorient social relations. In this sense, churches that sponsor social services increasingly espouse a privatized, economic, and individualistic “Civil Society” in sharp contrast to communitarian notions of social citizenship that formerly better reflected churches’ operating ontology. (shrink)

The British government recently announced its willingness to expand the number of state–funded faith schools. It was a decision that aroused considerable controversy, with much of the unease centring around the allegedly divisive nature of such schools. In this article I defend faith schools against the charge that they necessarily undermine social cohesion and show how they can, in fact, legitimately be seen as a force for unity. In addition, I challenge the critics’ key assumption that non–denominational schools (...) are inherently better positioned than their faith–based counterparts to promote a tolerant society. (shrink)

The British government recently announced its willingness to expand the number of state–funded faith schools. It was a decision that aroused considerable controversy, with much of the unease centring around the allegedly divisive nature of such schools. In this article I defend faith schools against the charge that they necessarily undermine social cohesion and show how they can, in fact, legitimately be seen as a force for unity. In addition, I challenge the critics’ key assumption that non–denominational schools (...) are inherently better positioned than their faith–based counterparts to promote a tolerant society. (shrink)

Commentary on re-opening dialogue between theological and secular voices in bioethics.