Tearfund and the Quest for Faith-Based Development

"This highly significant book explores the work of Tearfund over its first 50 years, emerging in the 1960s as a ‘new kind of missionary organisation’, becoming a major development NGO during the 1990s and then reorienting itself as a faith-based development organisation (FBDO) from the mid-2000s onwards. The insightful analysis unpacks the story of where ‘faith’ sits in this history, telling us as much about shifting social attitudes towards the role of religion in the public sphere as the internal dynamics of this important evangelical relief and development organisation. Skilfully researched and highly readable, this book presents an essential addition to the growing literature on religion, development and humanitarianism, and is especially significant as it is one of the very first in-depth studies of an FBDO." -- Emma Tomalin, Professor of Religion and Public Life, University of Leeds, UK.

"Dena Freeman’s book about Tearfund, the UK’s largest evangelical development organization, is a path-breaking and timely contribution to the burgeoning field of global development studies and the prominent role religion plays in development today. Freeman’s privileged access enabled her to write a unique account, at once honest and empathetic, of Tearfund’s institutional history and the fierce debates that preoccupy staff as they seek to reconcile the antinomy of faith and secularism. More than just the history of an evangelical development organization, this book offers a window onto a history of the contemporary." -- Charles Piot, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University, USA.

"This is a gripping story of ‘development’ and its relationship to mission and evangelism. Through detailed interviews and in-depth archive research, Freeman critically analyses how a Non-Governmental Organisation has come to new understandings of ‘doing development’ over the course of its history, from giving grants to missionaries to carrying out development projects in the 1970s, to campaigning for structural policy change to address poverty and climate change today. The book’s historico-conceptual analysis is peppered with interesting anecdotes about why things happened the way they did, such as how the Jubilee 2000 debt cancellation campaign started and how the Evangelical Alliance embraced social action and care for creation as part of its mission. Freeman shows in a captivating narrative style the creative tension between evangelism and social action. Both are intimately connected but, she argues, have an ‘almost entropic tendency to come apart’. This book will be an invaluable resource for students, scholars and practitioners alike to better understand the connections between faith and development, and the role that faith plays in the work of a major faith-based development NGO." -- Séverine Deneulin, Associate Professor of International Development, University of Bath, UK.

"This book opens up fascinating insights about ‘development’ in the 20th century: the emergence of ‘faith-based’ approaches, the plural continuities of missionary interventions, and the mainstreaming of development values and processes in the religious and secular sectors alike. Tracing the story of Tearfund, and the many twists and turns in the understanding of its mandate, Freeman adds a brilliant chapter to the story of how the dividing line between religion and secularity has been negotiated within and through Christianity all along. As such, the book pioneers a much-needed connection between the study of World Christianity and the burgeoning field of religion and development." -- Jörg Haustein, Lecturer in World Christianities, Cambridge University, UK.

"Freeman has written one of the first books in what will hopefully become a trend - deep histories of faith-based humanitarian and development organizations that examine the role of faith in organizational culture. Faith-based organizations are not a neatly defined category and histories of this sort can demonstrate the internal debates and external pressures that lead organizations to define their own parameters. This book is significant not only for those interested in religion and development research (for whom it is a crucial read), but also for those wishing to understand more about non-profit organizations in general." -- Olivia Wilkinson, Director of Research, Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities, Washington DC, USA.

"By carefully tracing the history of Tearfund and attending to its internal struggles to define what makes Evangelical Christian development interventions different from their secular counterparts, Freeman provides a rich account of the difference Evangelical identity makes for those invested in its meanings and worldviews. Perhaps most significantly, she shows through careful historical and ethnographic research that Evangelical identity does not just happen, but is actively constructed, often through processes of contestation. This is an important work for those wishing to understand how religious identity affects, or doesn’t, international development processes." -- Jill DeTemple, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Southern Methodist University, USA