Suchergebnisse

Until recently, academia has largely neglected the impact of religion on sustainable development. However, empirical studies have shown that religion remains important in many societies and that its importance has been increasing since the beginning of the new millennium. This paper reviews the empirical quantitative literature on the effect of religion on development from the last decade. We start by disaggregating the concepts of religion and sustainable development into four religious and three developmental dimensions and proposing a framework to identify causal mechanisms. Numerous mechanisms are possible, and this complexity explains why only a few uncontested findings exist. Religion is ambivalent vis‐à‐vis development: although religious dimensions exert a positive influence on physical and mental health as well as on general well‐being, scholars have found a negative relationship between religious dimensions and both income and gender equality. Studies agree that the dominance of one religious group together with parallel ethnic and religious cleavages increases the risk of conflict, while studies on the pro‐peace effects of religious factors are largely missing. Methodological challenges relate to the availability of fine‐grained data, especially for non‐Western countries, and the use of concepts and definitions. Most importantly, the study of religion and development requires methods that allow for causal inference.

Religion has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Faith-based discrimination, hostility and violence seem to have increased worldwide. But how can faith lead to conflict? In this article, we test the impact of two important dimensions of religion that have been neglected in previous research: the belief in 'one true religion' and perceptions of threats by other religious groups. Putting these two potential drivers to the test, we conducted a representative survey experiment with 972 respondents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results show that one of the tested dimensions, perceptions of threats by others, increases the support to use violence to defend one's own group. This is particularly the case for religiously intolerant respondents with characteristics such as pre-existing threat perceptions, unfavorable views on intermarriage, or belief in the superiority of their own faith. In contrast, we find relatively weak evidence that the prime of 'one true religion' increases the readiness to use violence. Our findings have important implications for policy: We conclude that appeals by leaders to threats by others and intolerance toward other faiths can contribute to more conflict. Political and religious leaders should refrain from capitalizing on such notions and should promote tolerance towards other faiths instead.

Religion has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Faith-based discrimination, hostility and violence seem to have increased worldwide. But how can faith lead to conflict? In this article, we test the impact of two important dimensions of religion that have been neglected in previous research: the belief in 'one true religion' and perceptions of threats by other religious groups. Putting these two potential drivers to the test, we conducted a representative survey experiment with 972 respondents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results show that one of the tested dimensions, perceptions of threats by others, increases the support to use violence to defend one's own group. This is particularly the case for religiously intolerant respondents with characteristics such as pre-existing threat perceptions, unfavorable views on intermarriage, or belief in the superiority of their own faith. In contrast, we find relatively weak evidence that the prime of 'one true religion' increases the readiness to use violence. Our findings have important implications for policy: We conclude that appeals by leaders to threats by others and intolerance toward other faiths can contribute to more conflict. Political and religious leaders should refrain from capitalizing on such notions and should promote tolerance towards other faiths instead.

Contrary to the expectations of secularization theory, religion remains socially important and affects politics in multiple ways - especially regarding conflict between religious communities. Theoretically, religion can increase altruism, but belief in the superiority of one's faith may facilitate intergroup discrimination and related conflict. Previous findings remain inconclusive, however, as specific religious ideas have hardly been tested. In this article, we argue that the content of religious ideas has causal effects on intergroup discrimination. We hence test the impact of two opposing, prominent religious ideas on altruism and discrimination: universal love and the notion of one true religion. Conducting dictator games with Christians and Muslims in Ghana and Tanzania, we find causal effects: Whereas the idea of one true religion increases intergroup discrimination, that of universal love fosters equal treatment. The policy implications hereof are obvious - promoting tolerant religious ideas seems crucial to avoiding conflict.

Die Arbeitsbedingungen in den Textilfabriken Asiens geraten aufgrund eklatanter Missstände immer wieder in den Blickpunkt der Öffentlichkeit. In Kambodscha versuchen internationale und lokale Akteure durch innovatives Engagement die Arbeitsbedingungen zu verbessern.


Textilexporte machen etwa ein Drittel des Bruttoinlandsproduktes von Kambodscha aus. Trotz einer relativ umfassenden Verankerung von Arbeitnehmerrechten in der kambodschanischen Gesetzgebung werden diese in der Textilindustrie nach wie vor häufig nicht durchgesetzt. Das im Jahr 1999 begonnene innovative Better Factories Cambodia-Projekt der Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation (ILO) sollte hier Abhilfe schaffen. Im Ergebnis haben sich die Arbeitsbedingungen verbessert, aber die Erfolge sind nicht eindeutig.

Während zu Beginn der gemeinsamen Initiative der kambodschanischen Regierung und der ILO deutliche Verbesserungen erzielt werden konnten, flaute diese Entwicklung seit dem Jahr 2006 merklich ab. Gründe hierfür sind u.a. Änderungen in der Anreizstruktur für Textilunternehmen. Zwischen den Jahren 2001 und 2004 wurden Kambodscha besondere Handelsvorteile gewährt, wenn das Land die Arbeitsbedingungen in der Textilindustrie verbesserte.

Der Mindestlohn für Textilarbeiter sank zwischen den Jahren 2001 und 2014 in realen Werten. Nach massiven Demonstrationen und Arbeitsniederlegungen stieg der Reallohn im Jahr 2014 erstmals an.

Es wird zwar ein großer Anteil der Beschäftigten in der Textilbranche durch Gewerkschaften vertreten, Gewerkschafter werden allerdings massiv unter Druck gesetzt. Befristete Arbeitsverträge werden zudem als Druckmittel gegen Textilarbeiter eingesetzt.

Problematisch ist insbesondere eine Zweiteilung des Sektors in exportierende Fabriken, die streng kontrolliert werden und die Arbeitsgesetze mehr oder minder befolgen, und Subunternehmen, die durch das Raster der offiziellen Kontrollen fallen.