The Purification, Sacralisation, and Instrumentalisation of Development

There is a flourishing literature, both academic and popular, which are critical and sympathetic to religious or faith-based organisations, and their development activities. However, most of these texts take the existence of stable categories of religion and development for granted without problematising them. This chapter by Professor Oscar Salemink in "Religion and the Politics of Development" seeks to do something different, namely to analyse development practice as religious practices.

Oscar Salemink: "The Purification, Sacralisation, and Instrumentalisation of Development" in Religion and the Politics of Development; Palgrave Macmillian; 2015

About Religion and the Politics of Development:
Eschewing tired doctrines of strict demarcation between development, religion and politics, this volume takes up the task of critically analysing this triple nexus. The chapters brought together in this landmark collection draw on detailed empirical studies from around contemporary Asia. Through their engagements with Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and secularism, among other traditions, the chapters argue persuasively for a new research agenda that attends to the ways in which development, religion, and politics are dynamically interconnected. In doing so, they deploy innovative conceptual approaches that rework taken-for-granted frames.