Resources

Developing Effective Partnerships Between Faith and Secular Actors to Challenge Discriminatory Gender Norms and Secure Rural Women’s Rights Co-hosted by: Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN in New York, the ACT Alliance, DanChuchAid and UNFPA in partnership with Christian Aid,…

Brief from Musawah: a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, which advances human rights for women in Muslim contexts, in both their public and private lives. Also see more information on Musawah's course on Islam & Gender Equality…

Frequently, community based strategies include engagement with local faith leaders. However, there have been few systematic attempts to document how faith leaders themselves define their roles in these initiatives. This study examined local faith leaders and their spouses, in flood…

Local Faith Communities in Urban Displacement: Evidence on Urbanization and Localization Brief Author: Olivia Wilkinson Design: Stacy Nam Key points: Local faith actors should be recognized as legitimate “local,” “civil society” actors A greater familiarity with the structures of local…

One in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence from their partner; this includes at least 90 million Catholic women. The mutual love and honor promised in marriage is not understood; hearts are broken; bodies and spirits are…

Guidelines for church leaders in areas where disasters (earthquakes, fires, flood etc.) are common. Chapters include:  Introduction Chapter 1 – The local church and disasters Chapter 2 – Organising ourselves Chapter 3 – Risks, needs and capacity assessments Chapter 4 – Displaced people…

Ending Corporal Punishment of Children- a handbook for  multi-religious gatherings This resource, which has been written in collaboration with religious leaders and faith-based communities, is based on the premises that the major religions profess respect for the inherent dignity of…

Maximizing a Health System Approach for an Improved Epidemic Response Recommendations from IMA’s Experiences Containing Ebola Outbreaks in the DRC IMA World Health’s work on the frontlines of strengthening fragile healthcare systems often brings us in contact with new infectious…

Preventing Malaria in Our Communities A Guide to Help Faith Leaders Educate Congregations and Communities About Malaria Muslim Joint initiative between IMA World Health and the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty. For more information [email protected]   Also see Christian…

This report describes the results of a yearlong qualitative study on religious leaders’ understandings and responses to issues of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Conducted by the Science, Religion, and Culture Program (SRC) at Harvard Divinity School with the support…

Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence June 2014 Sexual and domestic violence inflicts deep emotional, physical, and spiritual harm on the individuals who endure it. It also inflicts long-term damage to communities by reinforcing discriminatory social, economic, and…

Working effectively with faith leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices Study Speakers Dr Elisabet le Roux is the Research Director at the Unit for Religion and Development Research Dr Brenda Bartelink is an anthropologist and scholar in the Academic Study of Religion…

These khutbah and sermon guides were developed to empower religious leaders with the tools and skills to reach their congregations with key messages on pediatric HIV transmission and prevention; stigma and discrimination; and treatment, care, and support; as well as…

A Toolkit for Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction & Management for members and partners of the Anglican relief and development community Episcopal Relief convened a global Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Working Group to collaborate on creating these tools. Twelve…

The Capacity for Interreligious Community Action program (CIRCA) was a three-year capacity-building program financed by GHR Foundation and supplemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The overarching goal of the program was to contribute to human development and more peaceful coexistence…

Weather Coast and Temotu Community Channels of Hope Project Phase 1 Hope for a safer Solomon Islands Findings from evaluations of gender norms change and violence prevention initiatives in Honiara, Temotu and Weather Coast World Vision’s Channels of Hope for…

Salvation Army International Magazine Salvation Army Website [embed]https://issuu.com/salvationarmyihq/docs/atw-oct_2017-web[/embed]

Synthesis report of the UK-Government funded project: ‘Working effectively with faith leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices’

November 2017 In 2017, the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) undertook a study funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), entitled ‘Working effectively with faith leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices. The following policy…

November 2017 In 2017, the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) undertook a study funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), entitled ‘Working effectively with faith leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices.' Policy brief addressing…

As part of the JLI GBV Hub Study funded by UK-Aid on Harmful Traditional Practices (HTP)s, the literature review focused on the most prevalent HTPs and faith actors conducted at the start of the study As such it served as…

Bibliography Themes: Prevalence of Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs) HTPs in the context of faith As part of the UK-Aid funded HTPs Project conducted by the JLI GBV Hub. See full JLI GBV Study Toolkit here

This document details the findings from the case study done with Tearfund.
As part of the JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders.

This JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders. This document details the findings from the case study done with World Vision International

This JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders. This document details the findings from the case study done with Islamic Relief Worldwide.

This JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders. This document details the findings from the case study done with Christian Aid

This JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders. This document details the findings from the case study done with ABAAD through five interviews.

This JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders. This survey report is on the data from an anonymous, online survey that was completed by 65 individuals from across the globe. As such, the survey report merely details and explains the data gathered through this survey.

Religious beliefs and leadership can play important if complex roles in family planning decisions at many levels, but there are significant gaps in understanding how these influences affect family planning policies and programs. The World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD), in…

This case study will briefly examine MERATH’s localized approach, including a spotlight on child-focused programming in education in emergencies in Lebanon and child protection in Syria, providing quantitative and qualitative evidence of its community-level impact based on focus group discussions,…

In December 2012, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres organized a Dialogue with faith leaders, faith-based humanitarian organizations, academics and government representatives from countries around the world on the theme of “Faith and Protection.” As the High Commissioner noted…

This discussion guide and toolkit provides ideas and approaches to enable you to think through your research partnerships; to encourage you to critically engage with issues such as the roles different actors play in partnership; and what types of evidence…

The aim of this report is to highlight evidence regarding the roles and impact that Local Faith Communities (LFCs) play in relation to urban refugees, with the aim of informing interconnected conversations around localisation and urbanisation. The international community is…

This manual is designed for facilitators of the ‘Do No Harm for Faith Groups: Christian-Muslim Edition’ workshop for partners. The participants in these workshops are religious leaders and faith-based organisation (FBO) staff who work closely with the host organisation. The…

LWR outlined its institutional Approach to Resilience in a technical document produced in 2015 (see below). Building on the foundations laid out in LWR’s approach, part II goes one step further: It provides the basis to apply resilience thinking in…

Authors: Kirsten Laursen Muth, Chou Nuon, Vanessa Pizer, Abiy Seifu Link to other SVRI Faith-related Presentations

Exploring the Nexus between Harmful Traditional Practices, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Religion: Working effectively with Faith Leaders September 19, 2017 Lisa Le Roux and Brenda Bartelink Presentation For more information about the JLI SGBV Hub Study see here See…

Despite the benefits of antenatal care, evidence from sub-Saharan Africa suggests that women often initiate these services after the first trimester of pregnancy and do not complete the recommended number of visits. This study examines the impact of mobilising faith-based…

The current crisis in CAR began in December 2012, when the northern-based Muslim Séléka forces overthrew the government, forcing then-president François Bozizé to flee the country. This led to the formation of Christian self-defense militia groups, the Anti-Balaka. Since then…

The harm suffered by refugee children is not limited only to traumatic experiences suffered while in South Sudan or in transit to Uganda but is also especially prevalent in the new settlements, where usual child protection systems and coping mechanisms…

The dialogue on 13 June represents a next step in a continuous effort by the World Food Programme to mobilize support for Zero Hunger. In support of this discussion a number of religious leaders representing various faiths and geographic regions…

Studies in Muslim-Christian Cooperation This publication presents case studies on interreligious action, highlighting specific approaches and tools that CRS staff members created and the networks they helped forge. They address shortcomings as well as successes and delineate lessons garnered from everyday experience. They…

Video of roundtable sessions with leaders from Muslim, Christian and Druze faith groups on Violence Against Women (VAW) in collaboration with both Oxfam as well as the Forum for Development, Culture, and Dialogue [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS5_bamajys[/embed] Boolket on ending VAW (in arabic):

This scoping research conducted by Oxfam America in Partnership with Harvard Divinity School, combining a literature review and interviews of more than 45 stakeholders, set out to examine the varying approaches and effectiveness in local humanitarian leadership by secular and…

The purpose of this study is to assess the barriers and enablers to community acceptance and implementation of safe burials in Sierra Leone. The Ebola virus continued to spread in Sierra Leone partly because communities were initially resistant to Burial…

102 UNICEF offices provided information about their extensive work with faith communities over recent years. Partnerships included sensitization activities, capacity development, and support for advocacy and social mobilization. The mapping report concludes: “With evidence of UNICEF’s extensive engagement with religious communities in plain view, UNICEF must now turn its attention to maximizing the benefits of its partnerships with these critical actors”

The Collective Action for Adolescent Girls Initiative (CAAGI) is a two-year pilot funded by Christian Aid, and jointly implemented by Development and Peace Initiative (DPI) and Gender Awareness Trust (GAT). The project aims to improve significantly the choices and opportunities…

Preventing Malaria in Our Communities A Guide to Help Faith Leaders Educate Congregations and Communities About Malaria Christian Joint initiative between IMA World Health and the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty. For more information [email protected]   Also see resource…

Role of Religion and Religious Leaders in Farmer-Pastoralist Conflict in Plateau State: An Inter-Religious Peacebuilding in Northern Nigeria (IPNN) Qualitative Research Report In the context of persistent, low-intensity conflict, which has characterized Nigeria’s Middle Belt for the past decade, Mercy…

An Exploratory Study to Examine the Effectiveness of Community Based Ebola Virus Disease Prevention and Management Strategies in Bo District Sierra Leone World Vision Sierra Leone and Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration on World Vision's Ebola Response in Sierra Leone.…

We Will Speak Out (WWSO) is a global coalition of Christian-based NGOs, churches and organizations, supported by an alliance of technical partners and individuals – chief among them Tearfund, a MenEngage Alliance member - who together commit themselves to see…

The U.S. and other Western governments are now turning to strategies known as countering violent extremism, or CVE. According to the White House, CVE addresses “the root causes of extremism through community engagement.” Instead of fighting violent ideology with bombs,…

Religious leaders are in a prime position to change harmful attitudes about family planning. They are some of the most important and respected opinion leaders in Ugandan communities who can help shift social norms. By virtue of their status and…

On World AIDS Day, the World Council of Churches launched Leading by Example: Religious Leaders and HIV Testing, a interfaith campaign that encourages religious leaders to inspire getting tested for HIV and especially to lead by example and have themselves tested for…

Channels of Hope research findings presentation- Building the evidence base on the role of local faith leaders to critical issues to enhance outcomes towards SDGs *Presentation for Dec 2016 Mobilization of Local Faith Communities Hub meeting Christo Greyling

This publication is Catholic Relief Services (CRS) training guide on partnership and capacity strengthening. The organization has a rich history of working productively with local organizations, including both Church and non-Church partners. The CRS Partnership and Capacity Strengthening Unit seeks to support Country…

Road Map to Resilient Communities: Church Agencies Network, Disaster Operations.

“Sustained Relational Collaborations”. Rev Bob Mitchell's words on behalf of the Church Agencies Network.

Matthew Frost delivers opening remarks of the Religious & Faith-based Communities Perspectives Panel. To watch the video, please click the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRaCrT3dnJY

Report on the role of religion and development. Download the resource from the download link

A strategic review of Oxfam's work in Haiti between 2011 and 2014. To download this and other Oxfam resources, click here: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/

The African Christian Health Association (ACHA) family planning programme sought to utilize faith communities to improve contraceptive uptake. The program was in part implemented by increasing information, education, and communication on family planning to religious leaders and by them. This program aimed to create a replicable model for strengthening family planning within Christian Health Association’s (CHA’s) in other sub-Saharan countries.

A simple monthly tool was developed to be used by religious leaders for reporting, and a guide for messaging was developed to be used by religious leaders. In each country, the Ministry of Health (MOH) community referral forms and the MOH family planning cards and registers were used to collect data on referral and uptake of family planning services.

Tags:Capacity Building

"Faith-based Interventions in Peace, Conflict and Violence: A Scoping Study" was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit on May 23, 2016 at the JLIF&LC & Soka Gakkai International Side Event "Evidence on Religious Groups' Contributions to Humanitarian Response". For more…

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets high standards for children’s protection and well-being in the family, school, society and institutions – standards that religious leaders and groups are particularly well-placed to communicate and hold society accountable…

WACC facilitates a Development Initiative Programme under which project partners in countries of the global South carry out one-year-long initiatives that place communication (including traditional media and digital technologies) at the centre of strategies to bring about social change.

Tags: Capacity Building, Data Collection by Local Community

Article by Saferworld Bangladesh, January 2016 By involving religious leaders and using their influence in the local community, a Saferworld project in Bangladesh has been able to more effectively address safety and security issues and promote peace, write G.M. Shoeb…

Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty The center, with funding from the GHR Foundation, published an evaluation and analysis of NIFAA's early work in 2011, two years after NIFAA's founding. The report demonstrated NIFAA "offers a sustainable and replicable…

This policy brief on "The role of faith communities and organisations in prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence" was completed by Elisabet Le Roux, Stellenbosch University, on behalf of the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities Gender-based…

The Faith Alliance for Health commits from 2016-2020 to strengthen national and local faith networks of faith leaders and organizations to build their influence to bear and use their assets to eliminate preventable deaths of women, children, and adolescents. This…

A regional summary of the Tearfund’s “Men, Faith and Masculinities” studies in Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo.

Faith leaders, as trusted and respected members of their community, have played a hugely significant, and often unsung, role in the Ebola crisis. In the midst of confusion, fear and panic, communities have often turned to them for guidance. They…

In December 2013, representatives from 12 faith-based organisations came together to explore and articulate a theory of change for faith group and community mobilisation. The process examined assumptions about what success looks like and how we contribute to change; and specifically analyzed the role of faith, drawing on any existing evidence base. A small working group then met together in July 2014 to draw together the theory of change. Throughout the process, the group was careful to surface both similarities and differences. The theory of change diagram captures the core underlying beliefs that the group hold in common, while the narrative explains the diagram, fills in more detail and highlights areas of debate and that need further learning and testing.

World Vision’s HIV and AIDS response strategy focuses on building the capacity of communities to prevent the spread of HIV and on providing care and advocacy for people living with HIV and for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). The Channels of Hope (CoH) methodology, one of World Vision’s three core HIV and AIDS response models, is used to mobilise the infrastructure, organisational capacity, pool of current and potential volunteers, and unmatched moral authority of local churches and faith communities towards positive action on HIV and AIDS. Once they have been mobilised, World Vision works with churches and faith-based organisations to co-ordinate and equip sustainable, community-based HIV and AIDS programmes with an emphasis on reaching OVCs in need of care and support.

In the communities where WV works, many serious issues often limit improved child well-being (CWB). These might include violence against children, poor birth spacing, gender inequality, early marriage, wife inheritance, malnutrition, early marriage, gender-based violence, HIV infections, TB and malaria, trafficking, and more.

The central argument in the paper is that development is primarily about safeguarding and enhancing the dignity of human beings. Human dignity originates from God who has singled out humankind from other creations and favoured it in several ways. We are the only creatures that contain the Divine spirit which was placed in humankind by God during creation (Qur’an, 15:29). God has also distinguished humans from the rest of creation by endowing us with intellect (‘aql). Further, God has given humans the custodianship (khalifa) of the rest of creation on earth.

The success of integrated sustainable development (ISD) entirely rests upon a firm foundation of sound analysis of the following: Start-up assessment, Well-being and assets, Structural causes of poverty, Vulnerabilities to shocks and climate change, Opportunity analysis.

Tearfund commissioned some research in February 2010 on the role of the church in sexual violence in Liberia, in a preventative sense and as a caring institution.

Based on data collected on domestic violence over 10 years by the IRC in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, said domestic violence is the “most urgent, pervasive and significant protection issue for women in west Africa”.

Tearfund commissioned some research in January 2011 on ‘The current situation regarding sexual violence in Burundi, the role of the church and possible avenues for intervention.’

Tearfund commissioned some research in February 2010 on the role of the church in sexual violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in a preventative sense and as a caring institution.

There are many lessons that can be drawn from the movements of people with HIV, where they became key advocates in shaping the global response. The aim of this report therefore is to assess the depth and breadth of survivors needs in order to determine the legitimacy and potential
benefits of a survivor movement.

This report is a compiled from two pieces of research commissioned by
Tearfund’s HIV & Sexual Violence Unit. The full reports and researchers are:
– Sexual violence in South Africa and the role of the church by Elisabet
le Roux at the Unit for Religion and Development Research at
Stellenbosch University
– Breaking the Silence (full report) by Robyn Curran, Bongi Zengele and
Solange Mukamana.

A Technical Brief for the Capacity Project describing faith leaders’ impact in low-income settings.

A background document used by the UNHCR on faith and development as it relates to refugees.

!is report has been produced as part of the Global Initiative for Faith, Health, and Development (GIFHD). GIFHD
seeks to serve as a bridge between faith and secular development communities, to give voice to the concerns and
capacities of the faith sector, and to advocate for the full engagement of the faith sector with governments, bilateral and
multilateral institutions, other civil society actors, and private philanthropy. !e Global Initiative is convened and
supported by the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty (CIFA), a Washington DC-based organization committed
to building the collective capacity of the international faith community to increase its impact on poverty and disease.

This report presents findings from a mapping initiative that aimed to capture how faith-based organizations respond to violence against women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region. As a collaborative initiative between UNFPA and the Asia-Pacific Women Faith and Development Alliance (AP-WFDA), it sought to identify examples of strategies used by faith-based organizations. The report brings together the experiences of 58 organizations collected through an online survey, supplemented by in-depth interviews conducted with selected agencies. Importantly, the survey results represent only a small proportion of the faith-based organizations addressing violence against women and girls across the region.

Description of the Featured Member, World Vision, and their program, Channels of Hope.

A review of the results of a consultation regarding how faith leaders and groups can and are contributing to the development of Latin America.