ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an examination of the history and development of humanitarianism, particularly its relation to and development alongside the Christian missionary tradition, colonialism and international law. Humanitarianism and development was inextricably linked to the civilising mission. An overwhelming number of scholars in the anthropology of humanitarianism and development argue for an ethnographic approach – one that is empirical, detailed, nuanced, historically and socially situated – especially scholars studying the role of religion in non-governmental organizations. In a modern secular discourse, religion and politics are also understood as separate and distinct. In being at once a transnational space, religious space and humanitarian space, the chapter is an example of a faith community who, through engaging with both local populations and transnational networks, is a community inherently marked by migration itself. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
