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.

This volume brings emerging research on religion and development into conversation with politics. Deploying innovative conceptual frameworks, and drawing on empirical research from across contemporary Asia, this collection makes an incisive contribution to the analysis of aid and development processes.

Robin Bush is Director for Research and Strategic Collaborations, Asia, for Research Triangle International (RTI), Indonesia. She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Washington, USA, and is the author of Nahdlatul Ulama and the Struggle for Power in Islam and Politics in Indonesia (2009).

 

Philip Fountain is Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the Australian National University and has published extensively on the relationships between religion, development and humanitarianism.

R. Michael Feener is Research Leader of the Religion and Globalization Research Cluster at the Asia Research Institute and Associate Professor in the Department of History at the National University of Singapore. His most recent book is Sharia and Social Engineering (2013).

Introduction; Robin Bush, Philip Fountain and R. Michael Feener
1. Religion and the Politics of Development in Asia; Philip Fountain, Robin Bush, R. Michael Feener
2. The Purification, Sacralisation and Instrumentalisation of Development as a Religious Enterprise; Oscar Salemink
3. Gender, Development, and the 'De-privatization' of Religion: Re-framing Feminism and Religion in Asia; Emma Tomalin
4. Islamic Activism and Palliative Care: An Analysis from Kerala, India; R. Santhosh
5. Buddhist Cosmopolitan Ethics and Transnational Secular Humanitarianism in Sri Lanka; Nalika Gajaweera
6. Buddhist and Protestant Philanthropies in Contemporary Southeast China: Negotiating the 'Grey Zone'; Wu Keping
7. Patronage, Welfare Provision, and State-Society Relations: Lessons from Muslim-Dominant Regimes in Southeast Asia; Kikue Hamayotsu
8. Between Ideology and International Politics: The Dynamics and Transformation of a Transnational Islamic Charity; Zoltan Pall
9. Remaking the Russian State from the East: The Role of Asian Christians as Civic Activists; Melissa Caldwell
10. The Politics of Nonreligious Aid: A Japanese Environmental Ethic in Myanmar; Chika Watanabe
Outlook; R. Michael Feener, Philip Fountain and Robin Bush