Accounts of humanitarianism regularly address the historical influence of religious traditions and commitments in shaping our understanding of this field. Whether focused on ancient writings regarding obligations to others, the religious views and backgrounds of key humanitarian figures of the nineteenth century such as Henri Dunant or Florence Nightingale, or the role of religious leaders in the formulation of the contemporary human rights regime, faith is acknowledged to have been a determining influence on the development of humanitarian thought and practice (Moorehead 1999; Ferris 2005; Bucar and Barnett 2005; Barnett and Weiss 2008; Calhoun 2008; Walker and Maxwell 2009).

However, from the late nineteenth century and gathering pace through the twentieth, the codification of humanitarian principles and law, accompanied by the institutionalization of humanitarian actors and accountabilities, saw the establishment of a distinctively secular humanitarian regime (Calhoun 2008; Walker and Maxwell 2009). With non-governmental actors increasingly enmeshed within intergovernmental structures and governmental agendas, the principles and policies of humanitarianism were increasingly articulated in secular terms. Organizations with varying connections to faith traditions remained strongly active in the field, but generally adopted an approach and discourse that rendered it difficult to distinguish them on many criteria from secular agencies (Thaut 2009; Hopgood 2010). There were clear benefits from this incorporation of faith-based organizations within a secular humanitarian
regime. The move supported co-ordination and governance of the sector, facilitated faith-based organizations’ access to sources of public funding and fostered transparent commitment to humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality (Ferris 2005; Walker and Maxwell 2009).