ABSTRACT
This chapter applies the critical intersectional framework to the study of religion, international development, and humanitarianism. It demonstrates the impact of secular assumptions and biases on how development is approached and carried out, drawing out the potential detrimental consequences of dominant secular paradigms. It then discusses the specific context of the sector we refer to as international development and humanitarianism, emphasising that “development” is a domain that cuts across geographic boundaries and takes place in international institutions as well as in small community-based settings at the peripheries of global power. Against this background, the chapter then explores the place of religious actors, identities, and narratives in relation to three core challenges on the contemporary development and humanitarianism agenda: gender equality, climate change, and migration. The chapter makes a case for moving away from the idea of “development” to global partnership and cooperation, equalising the development playing field through mutual learning and knowledge sharing.
