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Open research questions in Religion, Society, and Development

309 gap statements mined from Religion, Society, and Development papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,343 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • It extends effectiveness scholarship into underexplored religious settings and offers practical implications for governance and leadership in hybrid religious-social organisations.

    Drivers of organisational effectiveness in faith-based institutions: Testing a multidimensional model in Sub-Saharan Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • The potential misalignment in faith and activism, along with the influence of transnational contexts in migrant activism, warrants further investigation.

    Faith and Activism against Gender-Based Violence: The Case of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to distinguish between governance realism and spiritual truth.

    Rejecting the Savior Mentality Without Losing the Concept of Salvation: A SISIF–APS–DTI Integrated Framework for Governance, Collective Agency, and Theological Integrity · 2026 · DOI

  • Overlapping roles, limited communication, and a lack of diverse staff among a few of the organisations. Stigma associated with receiving support. Difficulty in accessing coordinated support due to organisational isolation.

    Challenges and enablers of collaborative working in the voluntary, community, social, faith and enterprise sector: impact, effectiveness, and sustainability · 2026 · DOI

  • One lead organisation and their three partner organisations had overlapping roles, limited communication, and a lack of diverse staff. Some project leads and managers did not respond to requests for interviews.

    Challenges and enablers of collaborative working in the voluntary, community, social, faith and enterprise sector: impact, effectiveness, and sustainability · 2026 · DOI

  • The challenge of balancing the guarantee of religious freedom with the need to protect citizens from exploitation. The challenge of developing a robust legal framework to address the issue of religious manipulation. The challenge of addressing the root causes of religious manipulation, including socio-economic uncertainty and theological distortion.

    Religious Manipulation In Kenya Paper · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in the state's ability to monitor radicalized sects that operate under the guise of constitutional protection. The current regulatory framework is inadequate to address the issue of religious manipulation.

    Religious Manipulation In Kenya Paper · 2026 · DOI

  • The study recommends that, there is need for sustained partnership between religious institutions, security agencies, and government authorities to enhance peace-building initiatives in Kontagora Emirate. Strengthening religious education, promoting interfaith harmony, and empowering youth through faith-based programs remain crucial strategies for curbing terrorism and banditry.

    Between Complexity and Resistance: Religious Institutions and the Challenge of Terrorism and Banditry in Kontagora Emirate, Niger State · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of emphasis on community-based religious practices and their potential to generate non-institutional moral authority and shape public ethics. The neglect of large-scale devotional assemblies in Muslim societies and their potential for decentralized ethics and social order.

    From Faith, Ritual, and Social Responsibility: Community-Based Public Theology in the Haul Guru Sekumpul · 2026 · DOI

  • It highlights the need for a differentiated view of moral standing.

    Moral Standing, Moral Trusteeship, and Moral Community · 2026 · DOI

  • Such a discourse will have material consequences to some extent, although whether it is enough to reverse current trends in the asset management space as a whole is something that future research should explore in various parts of the world. Future studies could explore other economic fields and identify their theological imaginaries.

    Trading in the end times: keeping faith in financial markets · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of effective dialogue between the government and the Muslim community. The ambiguity regarding secularism. The institutional crises due to internal conflicts.

    The Existence of the Conseil Français de Culte Musulman in Bridging Interests of the Government and Muslim Community in France · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of deliberate social work interventions addressing witchcraft beliefs and accusations in Uganda. The paper identifies a need for social workers to address this issue.

    Addressing Witchcraft Beliefs and Accusations in Uganda: What Can Social Workers Do? · 2026 · DOI

  • The study does not provide a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by interfaith couples. The study is limited to the Southern Wollo region of Ethiopia.

    The role of interfaith marriage in fostering Muslim and Christian coexistence in Southern Wollo, Ethiopia · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to examine the role of interfaith marriage in fostering Muslim and Christian coexistence. Prior research has not fully explored the challenges faced by interfaith couples and families.

    The role of interfaith marriage in fostering Muslim and Christian coexistence in Southern Wollo, Ethiopia · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to strengthen capacity to ensure religious security and reinforce political and security stability in border areas.

    The Current Situation, Characteristics, and Emerging Issues of Religion in Vietnam’s Land Border Areas and Some Policy Recommendations · 2026 · DOI

  • The study seeks to address the lack of research on emerging challenges related to religious security and political stability in the region.

    The Current Situation, Characteristics, and Emerging Issues of Religion in Vietnam’s Land Border Areas and Some Policy Recommendations · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should examine the effectiveness of internal de-ethnicization programs and intra-church dialogue in rebuilding institutional unity. Future research should investigate the impact of long-term, flexible funding models on faith-based peacebuilding. Future research should explore the challenges of faith-based peacebuilding in other contexts.

    Ethnic Polarisation, Political Pressure and the Structural Limits of Faith-Based Peacebuilding in South Sudan · 2026 · DOI

  • The literature has devoted more attention to what faith-based actors achieve than to what prevents them from achieving more. There is a gap in the literature on the challenges of faith-based peacebuilding in South Sudan. The study aims to address this gap by examining the primary constraints on faith-based peacebuilding.

    Ethnic Polarisation, Political Pressure and the Structural Limits of Faith-Based Peacebuilding in South Sudan · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap is addressed by focusing on the Martino Student Charity Community in Hanoi.

    The Catholic Social Activities and the Vietnamese State’s Policy: The Case of the Martino Student Charity Community in Hanoi · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research can explore the development of social programs and missionary work in Kazakhstan. Studies can investigate the impact of legal restrictions and interfaith tensions on Pentecostal communities. Research can examine the role of non-traditional religious movements in modern society, interfaith relations, and the legal regulation of religious activity.

    The social role and religious practices of Pentecostal Churches in Kazakhstan · 2026 · DOI

  • The study recommended that adult church leaders and the church in general should overcome the power barriers between youth and adults and actively engage the youth in leadership roles of the church, and create opportunities for authentic decision-making within the top leadership of the church.

    Adventist Church on the Crossroad of Youth Managerial Leadership: A Study of Nyanchwa Station, South Kenya Conference · 2026 · DOI

  • The ADS-Nyanza should train specific youth as counsellors on social programs. This would make reaching the youth and teaching them about social issues easy.

    Influence of Faith-Based Organisations' Programs on Social Empowerment of the Youth in Nyanza Region, Kenya · 2026 · DOI

  • This identity is often described as a via media, meaning a “middle way” between Roman Catholic sacramentalism and Protestant emphasis on scriptural authority. This theological balance has historically allowed Anglicanism to accommodate a wide range of while maintaining theological institutional unity.

    Anglicanism and Pentecostalism in Rivers State: Examining Identity, Continuity and Change · 2026 · DOI

  • Based on the synthesis of findings, the following recommendations are proposed: - Both non-governmental organizations and governmental agencies can be recommended to actively advance and broadcast the imagery of benefits of ethical behaviour and losses of unethical behaviour.

    A Religio-Scientific Paradigm for Ethico-Value Reorientation in Africa · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Religion, Society, and Development

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Overlapping roles, limited communication, and a lack of diverse staff among a few of the organisations (“Challenges and enablers of collaborative working in the voluntary, community,…”, 2026); (2) The study recommends that, there is need for sustained partnership between religious institutions, security agencies, and government authorities to enhance peace-building initiatives in Kontagora Emirate (“Between Complexity and Resistance: Religious Institutions and the Challenge of…”, 2026); (3) The lack of emphasis on community-based religious practices and their potential to generate non-institutional moral authority and shape public ethics (“From Faith, Ritual, and Social Responsibility: Community-Based Public Theology…”, 2026); (4) Future studies could explore other economic fields and identify their theological imaginaries (“Trading in the end times: keeping faith in financial markets”, 2026); (5) The lack of effective dialogue between the government and the Muslim community (“The Existence of the Conseil Français de Culte Musulman in Bridging Interests…”, 2026). 309 gap statements have been mined from Religion, Society, and Development papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,343 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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