ABSTRACT
This contribution examines the role of religion in development in post-genocide Rwanda. With over 90% of the population adhering to the Christian faith, Christian churches constitute significant players in Rwanda’s society and address its challenges of development and reconciliation. What roles then do Christian churches play? Are there any differences between the activities undertaken by religious actors and by secular actors, such as the government? Although there is a strong partnership between churches and government in reconciliation and developmental activities, FBOs have their own approach to reconciliation work. They follow a bottom-up approach, in contrast to the top-down approach of the government. Moreover, churches can contribute to reconciliation with specific resources that are not equally available to the government: they build strong social ties, provide emotional support and bring in their specific religious dimensions through the Christian message of forgiveness, healing and love. The chapter concludes that religious actors demonstrate a contextualized understanding of development, inextricably linking development to conflict resolution and reconciliation.
