The role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in development can be contentious. Some consider faith in itself unempirical or irrational and thus unintelligent. Some think faith groups base their programs and policies on feelings rather than facts. Others worry that FBOs do not respect peoples' local beliefs and customs; they shudder at the thought of someone demanding conversion in exchange for life-saving medicine. And since President Bush, who went on a five-country tour of Africa last week, made supporting FBOs a pillar of his support for African and other assistance efforts, many fear that condom distribution has taken a back seat to abstinence-only education (even though PEPFAR, the U.S. president's AIDS program, is one of the largest distributors of condoms in the world).

The bottom line is: FBOs are doing a lot in developing countries to meet the needs of the poor, and they will continue to do so for decades to come. If we think understanding country context is important, and of course we do, then we need to understand and know what FBOs and churches and faith communities are doing and how far their reach extends. And we could always stand to learn more from people working in developing countries, both because it enriches our work, and because it can go a long way toward healing the deep divide between Washington and people on the ground, between the secular policy wonks and the Christians, Muslims, Jews and others delivering assistance in developing countries.