The Telos of faith-based aid: Christian organising in development, humanitarianism and advocacy through the lens of institutional logics

Abstract

This thesis is situated within the field of faith-based organisations (FBOs), but is concerned with a specific kind of FBO: large non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that operate within the same sphere of activity as those that do not have an explicit religious affiliation or faith basis. Since the turn of the century, the volume of funding passing through FBOs has increased, leading to a growing critical focus on such organisations: how should they be defined and categorised? In what ways are they distinct? Do they have comparative advantages? Rather than analysing how FBOs are distinct from other NGOs, the thesis explores what their faith orientation means in actual practice. It is also positioned within the field of religions and development, and thus the primary question it sets out to address concerns how faith influences the practice of faith-based development, humanitarian and advocacy NGOs. It focuses in particular on one UK-based FBO rooted in the Christian faith. The thesis makes two main contributions to the literature, the first of which concerns the theoretical perspective brought to the study of FBOs in religions and development. While various typologies have been constructed, the thesis employs a new perspective – that of institutional logics – and develops an analytical tool that can be adapted for use in future studies. The second relates to the emphasis placed on the ‘telos’ of each institutional logic. This is implicit within the perspective, but has not been a major area of focus to date. Within the case study organisation, the points of tension concerning the action of faith across organisational practice were found to connect to the telos of the logic of corporation, which is the ‘long-term sustainability of the organisation.’ This is because while the telos of the logic of religion (worship God) transcends the organisation, that of the logic of corporation is the organisation itself. Since ultimately, organisational practices must work to sustain the organisation, at the organisational level faith is restricted to certain spaces and forms, while at the individual level it is dominant and active. The argument advanced through the thesis is that the influence of faith at the organisational level predominantly relates to the process of organising. This brings a new perspective to religions and development. In Chapter 1, the research question is situated within its broader field. Chapter 2 then introduces the institutional logics perspective (ILP). The concept of the ‘field’ is also unpacked and defined, and its significance highlighted. The chapter ends with an overview of the methods of data collection and research instrument. Chapter 3 then focuses on historical research, using the ILP to highlight important dynamics in the history of development, humanitarianism and advocacy. Although connected, these spheres of activity have distinct historical paths, which are traced from their emergence up until the twentieth century, after which the post-WWII period is explored. The chapter highlights some of the tensions between dynamics related to various logics. Chapter 4 homes in on the contemporary UK-based sector. Bringing together the existing literature on typologies of institutional logics, insights from Chapter 3, and initial empirical research in a specified field, a tool for data analysis is developed: a field-level typology of institutional logics. In Chapter 5, this typology is used to process and analyse data collected within one FBO operating within the field identified in Chapter 4. Thus, the chapter demonstrates the use of the typology in action and value of the approach. Chapter 6 then explores the research findings, discussing these according to both the questions guiding the empirical research and the primary research question. Finally, Chapter 7 summarises the contribution of the thesis to the fields of religions and development and institutional logics respectively, and in particular, the study of FBOs within these fields