ABSTRACT
Concepts and definitions of ‘development’ are influenced by various ethno-religious identities, shaping political policies as well as understandings of how national resources should be distributed. Based on a case study of two different development organisations, this chapter analyses how members of various Guyanese religious groups define ‘development’ and examines how these concepts are influenced by inter-ethnic conflicts and concepts of giving. It further addresses that different organisations challenge established power structures and hierarchy through practices of and discourse on giving and leadership. For example, organisations highlight their own notions of faith-based development as holistic and oppose it to the allegedly partial development concepts of ‘others’, thus claiming moral superiority.
