In addition to these observed trends, changes in development
thinking have made the subject of religion no longer
avoidable in development studies. The gradual understanding
of poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon has made it
explicit that religion is an important dimension in many people’s
lives in developing countries. On the basis of interviews
with thousands of people throughout the developing world
about how those living in conditions of poverty understand
poverty, the World Bank study Voices of the Poor (Narayan
et al., 2000) noted that religion permeated people’s conception
of wellbeing. From Jamaica to Indonesia to Bangladesh, poor
people repeatedly mentioned that having a quiet place to read
the Bible and pray, undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca, or
attending/performing religious ceremonies was part of what
they conceived of as living a good life.