Faith-based organizations and poverty alleviation: a scoping review on definitions and terminology (2010–2021)

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we present the results of a scoping review in which we examined the scientific literature (2010–2021) on faith-based organizations (FBOs) working within the field of poverty alleviation, focusing on the way studies define and use the term FBO. Fifty-two relevant studies were identified and included. Our research shows that the term FBOs is primarily used in American studies. Moreover, there is no broad consensus on the exact definition or meaning of the term nor on its scope. Because of this lack of consensus and the inherent shortcomings of the term, we suggest to replace the term FBO by the term “religion-based solidarity initiatives” (RSIs), We define RSIs as: “Initiatives that, from a religious inspiration, aim at organizing collective action for and/or providing support or services to people in vulnerable positions.” These initiatives can range from small scale ad hoc initiatives till large scale formal organizations.KEYWORDS: Faith-based organizationsdefinitionpovertysolidarityreligion Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. We left out the five articles that are literature reviews from the table.2. When the definition of specific author(s) is used more than once, we give the complete the first time it appears in the table; on subsequent occasions we mention the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis scoping review is part of the SOLIGION project (2021–2024) funded by the FWO project number: S006621N