Faith, Secularism, and Humanitarian Engagement: Finding the Place of Religion in the Support of Displaced Communities – Alastair Ager & Joey Ager

Emerging questions and concerns about the role of faith in humanitarianism are increasingly being polarized across political and economic interests, particularly and recently evidenced in the highly divided responses to the contemporary ‘refugee crisis’. As such, Ager and Ager’s book is both a timely and urgent contribution to a discourse in need of active and constructive engagement with matters of faith. Indeed, the inclusion of ‘secularism’ in the book’s title is noteworthy in this respect. By offering reflections on faith in humanitarianism as a legitimate field of enquiry, it was necessary for the authors to outline and respond to the dominant secular framing of humanitarianism – a task they effectively undertake. In this book, the authors directly identity the “means to enable more effective humanitarian engagement with local faith communities and their agendas, interests and capacities” (p.vi) in contrast with, and in relation to, dominant secular engagement and understanding.

Comprised of four core chapters, the book takes the reader through a logical sequence of ideas related to the role of faith in humanitarianism, ending with a call for more effective dialogue with faith values, beliefs, instruments, leaders, and communities. Each chapter effectively and creatively begins with an account from the field as experienced by the authors, each highlighting the importance of the faith dimension in humanitarian engagement. For instance, Chapter 1 begins with a recollection of a stakeholder consultation in North Darfur relating to child protection. Having introduced and assessed a wide range of factors and concerns, one of the participants suggested that religious education in their community was essential to facilitate the “proper upbringing of children” (p.2). The authors themselves reflect on their “uncritical acceptance of a secular humanitarian ‘script’”, which had silenced the religious concerns of the beneficiaries of the project, “along with any other meaningful engagement with a perspective seeing children as members of local communities of faith” (p.3). This brief vignette, and others that frame each chapter, help introduce the reader to the missed opportunities or limited effectiveness of humanitarianism in practice, which would otherwise be gained through a deeper and more informed engagement with faith and religion.