"Religion, Culture and Development"

Tulane Institute for International Development (TIID) invites you to its  February Seminar under the Tulane International Development 2001 Seminar Series.

Speaker: Dr. John Hogan To hear this presentation click HERE  To read the seminar handout click HERE To read the list of further readings prepared by Dr. Hogan click HERE

During the 1990s the issue of the religious dimension in development theory and practice has become an important topic. For example, in 1998 the World Bank entered into a n agreement with the Oxford-based World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) in order to obtain feedback from a variety of spiritual traditions on the Bank’s efforts to alleviate poverty. The following year WFDD published a commentary on the Bank’s World Development Report 2000 which began with the proposition that

     All human activities fall within the sacred ordering of  the universe. There are intimate connections between economic development and the social, cultural, political, environmental and spiritual   In fact the cover page of this commentary bore the startling assertion that It is the invisible which makes the visible world possible.

 Religion has historically been perceived both as an obstacle to as well as a positive facilitator for social change and development. In this presentation Hogan and Hynes will talk about how they became personally involved with the dimension of religion in international development, drawing mainly on their extensive field experiences in Latin America and Africa. They then will discuss their approach to the interface of religion and development, both institutionally and at the informal (world view) community level. The presentation will emphasize the role of faith-based organizations and intercultural communications as key players and factors in domestic and international development in the 21^st century.

 Hogan will offer specific examples from their SAIS course and their collective experiences in development to illustrate some of their arguments for a “religion and development” perspective. As time permits, examples will be drawn from Buddhist, African, Muslim and Christian contexts.

 The core hypothesis of the presentation is:

 The religious dimension of any given society provides the most complete cultural

 Failure to understand these beliefs and to act upon them in the design, implementation and evaluation of community development projects by development practitioners will make an already extremely difficult task a virtually impossible one. To borrow a vivid metaphor from one of the field’s leading theorists, Denis Goulet, development practitioners can no longer afford to be “One-Eyed Giants” but must confront development realities with both eyes open.

 
John P. Hogan

Dr. Hogan specializes in the role of religion in development and social change, has published numerous articles on the subject, and is a regular reviewer of African and Latin American works on religion and social thought for various journals. He is currently senior advisor in the office of Citizen Exchanges at the U.S. State Department. Over the past eight years he has held a range of positions with the Peace Corps, including associate director of International Operations and eight months as the acting director. With Dr. Hynes, Dr. Hogan co-teaches a course on The Interface Between Religion and Development in the School of Advance International Studies of John Hopkins University. Dr. Hogan received his B.A. and M.A. from St. Vincent College and his Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. He is a member of Africa Faith and Justice Network, Pax Christi-USA and the Washington Office on Haiti, and he serves on the Advisory Council of the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.