Jeune Street

Several years ago the Canadian International Development Research Centre launched a project to bring together theologians, scientists and development practitioners (many of them all three) to discuss the relationship between science, religion and development. The result of this collaboration was the publication of a unique book called The Lab, the Temple and the Market: Reflections at the Intersection of Science, Religion and Development. The edited volume brings together contributions from the perspectives of adherents to several major religions, and the insights — often at a philosophical level — into the vast enterprise of ‘international development’ are refreshing.

One of the contributors is Dr Farzam Arbab, a Baha’i. Here’s an excerpt from his chapter:

The inability of development theory and practice to adequately address the creation, transformation, and strengthening of the structures of an emerging world civilization has been exacerbated by the long-standing conflict between two extreme views. At one extreme lies the conviction that change is basically effected at the level of the individual; at the other stands the conception of the human being as a mere product of society, and revolutionary structural change as the only way out of the predicament of most nations. …

The creation of the institutions of a global society, a web of interconnected structures that hold society together at all levels, from local to international – institutions that gradually become the patrimony of all the inhabitants of the planet – is for me one of the major challenges of development planning and strategy. … The enormous scientific advance required by the task demands volition and a rigorous application of the methods of science. But method alone is not enough. A vision is needed, and the proper vision will never take shape if the entire spiritual heritage of the human race continues to be neglected.

By the way, the whole book is available online for free.