Today, USAID released its first-ever religious engagement policy, affirming the important role of religious communities and faith-based organizations as strategic development partners. Since its founding, USAID has partnered with and alongside religious communities and FBOs to advance shared development and humanitarian objectives.
Grounded by a set of principles that shape the Agency’s commitment to our partnerships with religious actors, the policy provides USAID staff with a framework for engaging religious communities and FBOs in every sector and region where USAID operates. The policy, Building Bridges in Development: USAID’s Strategic Religious Engagement Policy, has three goals:
- Improve collaboration between USAID and religious communities and FBOs to advance shared priorities and maximize sustainable development and humanitarian assistance outcomes.
- Strengthen the capacity of USAID’s workforce to conduct Strategic Religious Engagement (SRE) with respect and inclusivity, in coordination with agencies across the U.S. government, our partner community, and in compliance with legal requirements.
- Increase the integration of SRE as an evidence-based, principled approach to addressing development and humanitarian challenges across sectors and in countries where USAID has a presence.
The Policy is available at: https://www.usaid.gov/policy/strategicreligiousengagement