Development amidst communal conflict: case study of a Christian FBO in a Buddhist–Muslim conflict region in Myanmar

Faith can be a powerful force for positive development and social change, but as James (2011) notes, it is a highly flammable fuel that can also easily result in negative outcomes. The pervasive influence of religion in the lives of many gives it a unique ability to shape both individual and communal identities (perceptions of self and others). While religious identities can be an extremely positive force, they can also be used as a source for exclusive and intolerant attitudes, with a potential to feed nationalisms that become motivators or justifications for conflict. This is particularly true in tense multi-religious contexts where competing ethnoreligious nationalistic identities and historical claims are forced to coexist – especially for faith-based development agencies that relate to one of those identities.This chapter explores the work of a small local Christian faith-based organisation (FBO) working in Buddhist communities in a region of significant Buddhist–Muslim tension and recent violent communal conflict, as a case study of development across complex faith boundaries. Local FBO Bethel works in partnership with the international FBO GraceWorks Myanmar (GWM). Making this case particularly interesting, Bethel has evolved out of a related religious organisation that still maintains a mandate for preaching a contextual Christian message to Buddhists, and most of the local workers are converts from Buddhism. Given the most inflammatory religious sparks for worsening conflicts are widely regarded to be discriminatory practices and proselytism – or perceptions of proselytism (e.g. Clarke and Jennings 2008; Flanigan 2010) – this case study is interesting for the way these issues are handled. This chapter includes new research examining whether and how this FBO has been able to avoid inflaming tensions and has been broadly granted a social mandate to operate in Buddhist communities, even though it constitutes a third religious actor in a context of vitriolic interreligious conflict.

Faith and crossing boundaries: implications for development policy and practice

Religion is not new to development. Indeed, religious institutions and individuals motivated by faith have been at the forefront of service provision since long before states and other actors became involved in development. Moreover, more than eight out of ten people self-profess religious belief. In developing countries, religious belief is often higher still. These facts alone suggest development agencies should seriously engage with religious beliefs and religious institutions, as they work to improve well-being, address inequality and alleviate poverty and vulnerability. For many, faith acts as a central organising framework for their core beliefs and values, and thus draws their internal map of reality and sets their compass of acceptable norms, behaviours and relationships. As a result, faith plays a significant role in shaping worldviews, laws, behavioural norms, public policy and social practices in the developing world, as has been extensively discussed in this volume.