religious organisations and aid
Boris Johnson, not infrequently in the news for gaffes and speaking-before-engaging-brain, has been a bit of a hero lately. Last week he leapt off his bicycle to rescue a woman who was being threatened by some young men. And this week he broke into the news by speaking up for religions organisations that offer aid to developing countries. Said organisations have been treated with caution because of the worry that they might be proselytising their beliefs, and not simply helping with aid (and unfortunately the years of trust and expertise they have built up in areas of need has been overlooked because of a knee-jerk PC attitude to matters of religious belief).
Boris cut through the nonsense, and said: “We have got a slightly politically correct super-sensitivity to anything that can be remotely classed as religious advocacy. And frankly I’ve got no difficulty with it whatsoever.”
Well done Boris.
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
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Not sure what to make of this. Are you saying that aid IS a form of religious advocacy, but that it’s wrong to be cautious about it? Or are you saying it isn’t, and people should stop worrying about it? It seems to me that Boris’s remark could be taken either way.
I seem to recall a case some time ago (Earthquake in Pakistan?) where a Christian group was reported to have delivered aid to Christians only in the stricken area. I can’t remember whether there was any truth in the story or not, but if so, then perhaps people are right to be worried?
Tony I didn’t edit the quote very well, but the point is that objections are raised to Aid organisations that are motivated by religious ideals, for fear that they might promote their ideals as well as the aid. (or, indeed, some have queried whether they are fair in distribution as well). But the history of aid organisations is that such a massive amount of aid is done by faith groups that to object about the faith has a very negative effect on aid. In addition, faith is a motivator both for volunteers and for money raised – not exclusively, of course, but to disallow the faith aspect would seriously undermine aid efforts.
This is a non-issue for me. It’s a typical ‘healthy, wealthy’ perspective forced on those that really are in need and don’t give two hoots where it comes from or who gives it. Are these lobby groups, sitting in their hightowers, flitting in and out of disaster zones, really saying that because someone dosn’t conform to a particular world view (i.e. non-faith based ), they are not going to be able to go to their fellow human being and offer aid? What motivations are on the approved list for providing aid? I’ve spent time in overseas aid and speak from personal experience.