In their article published in Development, Tamara Soukotta and Venansius Haryanto argue that the Catholic Church in Flores, Indonesia is both a moral advocate for local resistance and, at times, complicit in unwelcome development.
In 'Religion and the Violence of Development: The case of Flores, Indonesia', Tamara Soukotta, Visiting Fellow at the International Institute of Social Studies, and Venansius Haryanto, PhD researcher at the University of Bonn, examine the role of the Catholic Church in Flores, Indonesia, in the context of the violence of development over recent decades.
They argue that as state and corporate-led development projects – particularly in mining, tourism and energy – displace local communities and degrade the environment, the Church emerges as both a moral advocate for local resistance and, at times, complicit in such unwelcome development.
While the Church appeals to principles of social justice to defend the marginalized, it also engages in or remains silent about development agendas that result in dispossession and socio-environmental harm.
With this backdrop, the article argues that the Church in Flores stands at a crossroads: enmeshed in a development model that reinforces its institutional relevance while simultaneously undermining its ethical commitments. By unpacking this tension, the article contributes to broader discussions on the ambivalent roles of faith-based actors in development and the challenges of aligning moral authority with inclusive, rights-based approaches in contested development landscapes.
Read the article online - 'Religion and the Violence of Development: The case of Flores, Indonesia', Development, 26 November 2025.
- Researcher
- PhD student