This editorial introduces Religion & Development Vol. 3, Issue 1. The articles in this issue spotlight on the role of religion in social transformation in Southern Africa, with a focus on Botswana, Madagascar, Tanzania and South Africa. They cover various dimensions of development and take up important current issues in the field: gender and power relations, asset-based community development, caregiving and aging, COVID-19, science and religion and the contested politics of religion and development in historical perspective.