Divine providence, deferred progress: The promises and perils of religious humanitarianism and the evolution of independence and inter-dependence in religious and secular approaches to international assistance

This paper explores domestic and international levels of religious humanitarianism as the next phase of integrating religion into international relations, and social science research more generally. This paper builds upon previous studies and turns specifically to the study of religion and humanitarianism. A typology is employed to analyze the interaction of religious groups (RG) and governments in a broad international context, utilizing four cases within a framework for examining the interaction between states and faith-based and RGs. An in-depth case study on religion within the domestic and international sphere of US policy towards HIV/AIDS from 1981 to the present is then used to highlight the pitfalls and promises of the involvement of spiritually engaged groups in world health and international affairs, to analyze how religious groups may continue this involvement, and to provide breadth and depth to the study of the role of the United States in religious humanitarianism.