Our integrity projects help church leaders and communities, through applied research, to journey further towards internalizing stronger values of public integrity.
Fides seeks to work with and through the church as a catalyst for higher standards of public integrity in society that will enable a more equitable and just world. We believe the church has a great, but as yet untapped, potential to raise the standards of public integrity in society. Yet, this will demand deep changes in our churches in both theology and practice.
While the relationship between religion and corruption is largely understudied, some empirical data show, on the surface, that Christians demonstrate that their faith and the church are not very relevant in their attitudes towards corruption.
We believe that we need to build strong evidence about the role that faith and the church have on peoples’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to corruption.
This will help inform and shape the design and implementation of appropriate strategies and methods to help the church internalize, promote and demand public integrity.
The integrity projects represent an in-depth and long-term support to help church leaders and communities (as well as other civil society actors) better understand the relevance and influence of faith and the church in attitudes towards corruption and properly design practical interventions, as informed by such understanding, to change attitudes.
Field research
Fides generates knowledge about the relationship between Christian faith, the church, and corruption through its research projects. These projects involve the design of original research instruments to understand the relationship between faith and public integrity, surveys and interviews of a significant sample of the relevant population, a study report, and workshops to disseminate the study findings.
Practical tools
Fides helps local Christian leaders and churches develop practical and relevant tools to internalize a deeper commitment to public integrity values and a stronger advocacy voice.