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Faith-Driven Social & Behavior Change

When communities unite around a shared hope and purpose, they become powerful forces for lasting change.

A Pathway to Change

Social norms are the often-unspoken rules that shape what behaviors are considered acceptable within a society. These norms are influenced by perceptions of what others do and expect, as well as by perceived rewards, sanctions, and belief systems. Because belief systems are frequently rooted in faith traditions, engaging meaningfully with those traditions is essential when seeking to transform harmful behaviors, mindsets, and norms.

World Vision works with faith leaders and communities around the world to challenge these barriers — whether related to women’s equality, child protection, or health — and to advance children’s rights and well-being through the power of faith-driven change.

Our models are effective because they ‘move the heart’ by creating a safe space for participants to engage with their own religious texts and explore challenging topics; ‘inform the mind’ by delivering technical information clearly and appropriately; and ‘equip the hands’ to take meaningful, effective action within their communities.

Faith-Driven Social & Behavior Change FAQs

World Vision partners with faith leaders to transform harmful social norms and behaviors through a few key models: Channels of Hope, Celebrating Families, and Becoming One.

Children thrive in strong communities — where they are protected, supported, and empowered to overcome the challenges they face. Faith leaders, their spouses, and broader faith communities are uniquely positioned to influence social norms and catalyze positive change that supports children’s well-being.

Channels of Hope for Child Protection is a faith-based intervention that addresses violence against children by:

  • Raising religious leaders’ awareness of critical child protection issues
  • Mobilizing local faith communities and their resources
  • Creating supportive environments that prioritize the protection, care, and well-being of children

A five-year, multi-country longitudinal study of Channels of Hope found measurable improvements in attitudes, behaviors, and motivations — including increased opposition to child marriage and corporal punishment, and greater willingness to report child abuse. Read more about this project here.

For World Vision, understanding faith norms is a central part of social and behavioral change programming, as they play a significant role in our impact. World Vision has initiated a focused effort to better understand "faith norms," as our faith-based enabling models aim to transform personal beliefs, social norms, and behaviors in ways that empower individuals and communities to take positive action. This ultimately leads to safer environments for children and long-lasting improvements in child well-being.

Social norms are defined as the unwritten rules about behavior that people consider normal and appropriate within their group or community. From a faith perspective, faith norms are the unwritten rules about normal and appropriate behaviors, shaped by beliefs about what God or a religious community teaches. Faith norms are often deeply intertwined with cultural values.

World Vision conducted a pilot study in Mozambique and Bangladesh to better understand the faith dimension of social norms and behavior change, and to develop a tool for evaluating and measuring the impact of faith in social and behavioral change programming, particularly in our models such as Channels of Hope and Celebrating Families. The initial efforts focused on child marriage, and we are now expanding this measurement tool to address other areas, including gender-based violence.

Faith-Driven Social & Behavior Change Research & Resources

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