Religion and Development, Reprise

In a conversation with a colleague today, she said offhandedly, "You're a Christian, right?"

I said, "No."

"Well, what are you then?"

I stammered.

"You don't believe in GOD?" she asked.

"I believe that there's something...some kind of universal energy...or something." Sounds lame when you put it like that, I know, but I was on the spot.

She translated all this into Tamil for another colleague across the office. I could tell she was translating what I had said because she said "universal energy" in English and was waving her hands about lamely.

We had a really interesting conversation. I said I don't believe in a big white man who lives in the sky and grants people's wishes. That at least made my Hindu colleagues laugh, if a little nervously.

"But you need to believe that someone will punish you if you do bad things?!" One of the girls exclaimed. I think by the (unintentional) look of surprise on my face she could tell that I didn't agree.

In the book From Poverty to Power, Duncan Green discusses the role of religion in development. Greene writes that, though West has secularized noticeably in the last 50 years, most people in developing countries believe more strongly in their religions than in "any other [social] institution."

He references the World Faiths and Development Conference in 1998, where representatives of nine world faiths: Baha'is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Taoists, discovered they have a lot more in common than they thought. Each of these religions believes that:

* Material gain alone cannot lead to true development
* The whole world belongs to God. Human beings have no right to harm other living creatures (except mosquitos. Just kidding...kind of)
* Everyone is of equal worth
* People's well-being and their very identity are rooted in their spiritual, social and cultural traditions
* Social cohesion is essential for true development
* Societies (and the world) must be run on the basis of equity and fairness

I agree with all these things. And I value the real impacts that belief can have. The power of prayer so to speak. (Heck, it's been scientifically proven...)

My colleague lives this everyday. She said, "I think so many people go to the temple and pray, because we have so many concerns and worries."

"Praying helps to ease the pain," she said.