Tools for development practitioners

Picture: two filipin women showing power fist.

Explore the connections between FORB and development and integrate FORB in your programming with the help of courses, tools, resource materials and workshop exercises.

Integrating FORB perspectives and tackling religious inequalities is important for development effectiveness – regardless of whether your work relates to health, education, gender equality, civic space or climate change.

Contextual religious literacy and freedom of religion or belief literacy are important competences for development professionals to have in order to ensure that programming contributes to no-one being left behind.

Illustration: Circle with the different signs promoting various religions. Illustrator: Toby Newsome.

Course: FORB for all

A great introduction to FORB issues for development practitioners (and others), see particulaly the fourth module of the course – ‘Promoting FORB’.

Illustration: Circle with three people and different signs promoting various religions.

Course: Working with change in a religious world – an introduction to religious literacy

Designed for development organisations but useful for a wider range of actors, this short digial course helps you to explore general, contextual and practical dimensions of religious literacy.

Illustration of four flags, showing love, equality and genders, supporting a flag that says FORB. Illustrator Toby Newsome.

Course: FORB and gender equality

A self-study course on the relationship between women’s rights and FORB. Take the course at your own pace, any time. Includes a module on family law.

Illustration: Frontpage for What about us? Global perspective on redressing religious inequalities.

Key reading: What about us? Global Perspectives on Redressing Religious Inequalities

Explores the intersections between religious inequalities and other drivers of inequality and how FORB can be reframed to redress inequalities.

Key reading: FORB and the protection of faith-based minorities in development programming

A desk review of 49 development projects working to promote FORB and protect minorities, commissioned by the Danish government. An important contribution to the study of FORB in development programming. Includes recommendations for the government.

Claiming space for faith

Including freedom of religion or belief in the fight for civic space. Based on input from organisations in 29 countries this report argues that trends towards shrinking civic space and increasing restrictions on religion are related, with FORB as an integral aspect of civic space.

Illustration: Frontpage of CKU handbook: It's the thought that counts.

It’s the thought that counts – defining FORB as part of civic space

Admidst the global trend of shrinking civic space focus tends to be placed on freedom of expression, association and assembly. This report presents arguments for the inclusion of FORB in research and strategies and highlights the roles religious and belief actors play in civic arenas.

The Hate Speech Crisis: Ways to start fixing it

A practical toolkit for civil society organizations and activists from Minority Rights Group.

FORB and the Sustainable Development Goals

Here you can find a network, workshop exercises and a series of briefing papers and webinars focused on the relationship between freedom of religoin or belief and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

NETWORK: PaRD FORB initiative

The Partnership for religion and sustainable development (PaRD) brings together governmental and intergovernmental entities with diverse civil society organisations (CSOs) and faith-based organisations (FBOs), to engage the social capital and capacities vested in diverse faith communities for sustainable development and humanitarian assistance. Regarding FORB as a cross-cutting issue to all SDGs, the PaRD FORB initiative seeks to help members share best practice on FORB and sustainable development and to network collaborate in addressing and resolving FORB violations.

Workshop exercises

Touching points – FORB and development

A two-part groupwork exercise. In part one, groups sort a list cross-cutting issues relating to FORB. In the second, groups explore the practical implications of these linkages.

Excercise Details for Touching points – FORB and development

65-95 min
Group exercise
Sorting exercise

Match the SDGs

A groupwork exercise where participants work together to match various statements relating to FORB with the relevant SDGs and their sub-goals.

Excercise Details for Match the SDGs

40 min
Group exercise
Sorting exercise

Briefing papers

Freedom of religion or belief and sustainable development goals.

Leaving no-one behind: FORB and the Sustainable development Goals

First of a series of briefing papers, providing an overview of the relationship betwee FORB and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Freedom of religion or belief and health.

Leaving no-one behind: FORB and health

Second in the series of briefing papers on FORB and the Sustainable Development Goals focusing on the importance of FORB for equal access to health.

Leaving no-one behind: FORB and education

Third in the series on FORB and the Sustainable Development Goals focusing on the importance of FORB for equal access to education.

Freedom of religion or belief and womens rights.

Leaving no-one behind: FORB and women’s rights

Fourth in the series on FORB and the Sustainable Development Goals focusing on the importance of the relationship between FORB and gender equality.

Frontpage for handbook: Leave no behind: Freedom of religion or belief and climate change.

Leaving no-one behind: FORB and climate change

The fifth briefing paper on FORB and the SDGs explores the importance of countering religious inequalities in responses to climate change.

Freedom of Religion or belief and freedom of expression.

Leaving no-one behind: FORB and Freedom of Expression

The final briefing paper in the series explores the complex relationship between FORB and freedom of expression.

Looking for resources on hate speech, FORB and gender or other thematic topics?

Explore the FORB Library!