Christian humanitarian aid is work performed by Christian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to alleviate the suffering of people around the world. Humanitarian aid occurs in areas where some churches donate financial resources.
Origins The modern concept of Christian humanitarian aid is based on teachings from the Bible.Christian Buckley, Ryan Dobson, Humanitarian Jesus: Social Justice and the Cross, Moody Publishers, USA, 2010, p. 15 Charity and providing assistance to the poor are concepts established in the Old Testament.Frank M. Loewenberg, From Charity To Social Justice, Transaction Publishers, USA, 2001, p. 148 According to Exodus, part of one's tithe was devoted to the needy (orphans, widows, foreigners). In the New Testament, Jesus taught much about the subject of charity. In the Sermon on the Mount, he called for people to help not only friends but also enemies,Luke 6:35 as well as those rejected by society, such as people with disabilities.Luke 14:14 In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, he described the medical care paid by a Samaritan to a Jew (both peoples were enemies), as a model of love for his neighbor.Brian D. Lepard, Rethinking Humanitarian Intervention: A Fresh Legal Approach Based on Fundamental Ethical Principles in International Law and World Religions, Penn State Press, USA, 2010, p. 46CHESTER, Tim, La responsabilité du chrétien face à la pauvreté, Marne-la-Vallée, Farel, 2006, p.19-20 Paul of Tarsus has also raised funds for the underprivileged.Michael Barnett, Janice Gross Stein, Sacred Aid: Faith and Humanitarianism, Oxford University Press, UK, 2012, p. 67
Dating back as early as the Middle Ages, Catholic monasteries and monastic orders have a long tradition of providing charity, asylum, and assistance to the poor.E. Ferris, Faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations, International Review of the Red Cross 87, 858 (2005), pages 311-325 Protestant churches established the Department of Deacons responsible for helping the poor. Missionary societies of the 18th and 19th centuries often offered humanitarian assistance in addition to their main activity of evangelism.
In the 19th century, the first Christian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began emerging. YMCA, a Protestant NGO, was created in 1844 in London.J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of Protestantism, Infobase Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 591 Caritas, a Catholic NGO, was founded in Cologne in 1897.Yves Beigbeder, The Role and Statuts of International Humanitarian Volunteers and Organizations: The Right and Duty to Humanitarian Assistance, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Belgium, 1991, p. 218 The entrepreneurial culture of Evangelical churches also led to their creation of multiple NGOs.E. Fayner, World Vision:l'ONG la plus riche au monde , Témoignage chrétien, October 21, 2010
Like the humanitarian movement, Christian NGOs attracted more attention in the 1970s. Some Christian NGOs, such as those run by evangelical doctors providing medical assistance in impoverished countries, are recognized for their contributions to development.Voir, par exemple, La Suisse reconnaît l'apport des ONG chrétiennes, christianismeaujourdhui.info, Switzerland, August 22, 2011Prime Minister's Office, Churches network wins Big Society Award, UK, 3 June 2013N. Kristof, A Little respect for Dr. Foster, The New York Times, USA, March 28, 2015
Features and benefits A Christian humanitarian NGO has at least one of the following traits: Affiliation with a Christian religious organization Explicit references to a Christian religion in its statutes Financial support from a Christian religious organization Selection of its board of directors or teams based on Christian principles or religious affiliation Decision-making based on Christian religious principles
Affiliation with local Christian churches across the world often make it possible for Christian NGOs to work in countries or regions that are otherwise difficult for governmental or international organizations to access. The international network of many Christian religions allows their NGOs to gather significant funding and publicity to promote their humanitarian actions across the world.
Humanitarian staff In some Christian NGOs, the staff is not only Christian.Michael Barnett, Janice Gross Stein, Sacred Aid: Faith and Humanitarianism, Oxford University Press, UK, 2012, p. 46 However, common spiritual values are a common feature among Christian NGO employees and volunteers.Michael Barnett, Janice Gross Stein, Sacred Aid: Faith and Humanitarianism, Oxford University Press, UK, 2012, p. 128-129 According to Christian aid workers, their commitment is motivated by spiritual values of compassion and mercy.Frederick Klaits, The Request and the Gift in Religious and Humanitarian Endeavors, Springer, USA, 2017, p. 12Brian Steensland, Philip Goff, The New Evangelical Social Engagement, Oxford University Press USA, USA, 2014, p. 84Michael Barnett, Janice Gross Stein, Sacred Aid: Faith and Humanitarianism, Oxford University Press, UK, 2012, p. 125 In some NGOs, such as Mercy Ships, all employees are volunteers and have to pay for accommodation and food, as well as work for free.RTS, Le navire-hôpital d'une ONG suisse offre des soins à Madagascar, rts.ch, Swiss, February 01, 2015
Intervention policies The majority of Christian NGOs help everyone, regardless of religion.E. Ferris, "Faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations", International Review of the Red Cross 87, 858 (2005), p.317 With the growth of secularization in some countries, some Christian NGOs have downplayed their religious identity.Stanley D. Brunn, The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics, Springer, USA, 2015, p. 3118 In some NGOs this depends on the cultural context of the national antenna.THOMAS J DAVIS, Religion in Philanthropic Organizations: Family, Friend, Foe?, Indiana University Press, USA, 2013, p. XVIII
Contrary to certain clichés, many Evangelical NGOs do not mix humanitarian and evangelization.Verna, G., Le comportement des ONG engagées dans l’aide humanitaire : Selon leur culture d’origine et les pressions politiques subies, Revue Anthropologie et Sociétés, Volume 31, Numéro 2, Université Laval, Canada, 2007, p. 32-33 But on the other hand, some evangelical NGOs can not provide help without accompanying evangelization. The diversity of evangelical movements makes both scenarios possible. In some parts of the world, as on the African continent, local culture places a great deal of importance on spiritual things, which makes it difficult for some people to understand or accept the work of Humanitarian NGOs that do not display their religious identity.
Results and budgets In 2007, Christian NGOs comprised 57.4% of the NGOs affiliated with the United Nations.Bruno Duriez, François Mabille, Kathy Rousselet, Les ONG confessionnelles: Religions et action internationale, Editions L'Harmattan, France, 2007, p. 31
According to a British study by Elizabeth Ferris, published in 2005 in the periodical International Review of the Red Cross, Christian NGOs have large budgets and provide considerable financial support worldwide. This same study gives the following figures:
NGOs related to the World Council of Churches and those of the group of Caritas Internationalis spend over a billion dollars a year in aid and development. The Lutheran World Federation has a budget of $73 million for aid and development. According to a 1953 study, religious NGOs gave 90% of the assistance provided after World War II. According to William Headley of (Catholic Relief Services), 1/3 of the persons living with AIDS in the world are treated with the help of the Catholic Church.
According to sociologist Sébastien Fath, Evangelical churches and their respective NGOs develop an international humanitarian entrepreneurship that influences policy decisions.Sébastien Fath, Dieu XXL, la révolution des mégachurches, Édition Autrement, France, 2008, p. 42, 116 Therefore, they are unavoidable geopolitical players in the humanitarian field.
International Catholic organizations Among the most important International Catholic humanitarian NGOs, there are Caritas Internationalis and Emmaus International.Stanley D. Brunn, The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics, Springer, USA, 2015, p. 2932 See also Catholic charities.
International Protestant organizations At the level of international Protestant humanitarian NGO, there are church-related organizations such as Lutheran World Relief and United Methodist Committee on Relief.Elliott Abrams, The Influence of Faith: Religious Groups and U.S. Foreign Policy, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, USA, 2002, p. 181 The largest NGO humanitarian Protestant international not directly attached to a church is the YMCA.Immanuel Ness, Encyclopedia of American Social Movements, Routledge, USA, 2015, p. 968
International Evangelical organizations In the 1940s, in the United States, neo-evangelicalism developed the importance of social justice and humanitarian actions in Evangelical churches.David P. King, God's Internationalists: World Vision and the Age of Evangelical Humanitarianism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2019, p. 27, 121 The majority of evangelical Christian humanitarian organizations were founded in the second half of the 20th century.Brian Steensland, Philip Goff, The New Evangelical Social Engagement, Oxford University Press USA, USA, 2014, p. 242-243 Among those with the most partner countries, there was the foundation of World Vision International (1950), Samaritan's Purse (1970), Mercy Ships (1978), Prison Fellowship International (1979), International Justice Mission (1997).Wendy Murray Zoba, The Beliefnet Guide To Evangelical Christianity, Three Leaves Press, USA, 2005, p. XX
Controversies Conflicts of collaboration have occurred between Catholic NGOs and non-confessional NGOs in the fight against AIDS, mainly because of different views on the use of condoms.L. Ferrari, "Catholic and Non-Catholic NGOs Fighting HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issue Framing and Collaboration", International Relations 25(1) (2011), pages 85-107
In Bangladesh, some Christian NGOs are criticized for their activity of evangelism. According to the sociologist Geoffrey Martin, there is no overall policy, but some employees of Christian NGOs distribute Bibles to the people they assist. Evangelical aid has been criticized by more traditional Christian NGOs because they have not separated evangelism and humanitarian aid, which could affect all Christian humanitarian NGOs.
It has been difficult for some Christian and Muslim NGOs to collaborate.C. Benedetti, "Islamic and Christian Inspired Relief NGOs: Between Tactical Collaboration And Strategic Diffidence? ", Journal of International Development 18 (2006), pages 849–859
In 2007, an anonymous tip accused local World Vision International employees in Liberia of diverting food stocks and building materials for personal use.BBC, Liberia aid workers 'stole $1m', news.bbc.co.uk, UK, June 5, 2009 The NGO sent investigators to different partner cities in the country and estimated that 90% of its aid in the country had disappeared in fraud, while reports mentioned cities that did not even exist. Following this event, the organization set up a fraud reporting hotline.
Critics In 2003, Abby Stoddard criticized Christian NGOs for not respecting the principle of neutrality in the armed conflict in South Sudan, because of their support for the regional independence.
According to Tamsin Bradley, who performed a study in Rajasthan (India), faith and compassion occasionally result in members of Christian NGOs overlooking the actual needs of people they assist, as well as their long-term needs.Tamsin Bradley, Does Compassion Bring Results? a Critical Perspective on Faith and Development,Culture and Religion 6 (3) (2005), pages 337-351