International Christian Organizations and the Development of Sub-Saharan Africa – A Critical Study [Tiburcio]
James Tiburcio
Universidade de Brasília
According to recent studies cited by Doces and Woodberry (2006), there are great difficulties in linking international state-to-state aid and economic growth. Woodberry (2004) demonstrates the importance of international Christian missionary work as a source of economic growth and development. Since the Christian Mission in Africa International Conference held at Le Zonte, Belgium, September 14-20, 1926 (Davis, 1927), there has been special interest in studying the contribution of international Christian organizations especially in education, which Woodberry (2004), points out, leads to human capital accumulation, directly contributing towards greater economic growth and development. Has Christian missionary activity had a positive impact on the socio-economic scenario in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last sixty years? This paper will examine the impacts of international Christian organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa through the analyses of past academic, institutional and governmental studies and data on the subject. I will focus on international Christian organizations which have worked primarily in educational projects. Regarded by many as another tool used by western nation-states to institute a hegemonic pro-western mindset (Hickling-Hudson, 2004), these organizations have long been active in the African continent.
File: Tiburcio%2C%20James__ASREC-SSSR_Panel_B7_Nov_02_2007.pdf [304.81KB]
Published 11/02/2007
Filed under: (2007), *tiburcio, africa, asrec'07, economic development, economic growth, human capital
Triangulating the World’s Most Dynamic Religious Market: Africa Using a Quanti-Qualitative Method (QQM) [Grim]
Brian J. Grim
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
The African continent is arguably the world’s most dynamic religious marketplace, not only in terms of the growth of indigenous forms of Islam and Christianity but also the growing impact of African spirituality on the world. Despite this, empirical data on religion in Africa are scattered and lacking coordination. In this article I begin by briefly discussing important trends in the study of religion and public life. Then, applying what I have called the quanti-qualitative method (QQM), I describe the “triangulation” of three different types of information used to provide a richer understanding of religion and public life in Africa. First, I show how censuses, demographic surveys and public opinion surveys are used to develop well-sourced adherent estimates for countries. Second, I demonstrate how cross-national public opinion surveys are used to identify the type and intensity of attitudes, religious beliefs and reported behaviors among different demographic segments of countries. And third, I describe how deeper information on the regulation of religion and religious violence is obtained by coding major reports such as the U.S. State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom reports. I conclude with the argument that a clear understanding of religion is no longer an academic specialty – it is an academic necessity.
File: Grim_B_J_Triangulating_Religion_in_Africa.pdf [531.33KB]
Published 11/02/2007
Filed under: (2007), *grim, @asrec'07, africa, cross-national, religious markets