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Introduction
Faith-related agencies have begun to receive increased attention in academic and popular
literature. In these discussions, the diverse collection of social service, advocacy,
research, and evangelical groups that comprise faith-related NGOs are often promoted as
an effective and efficient means to reach target populations and respond to rapidly
changing needs. Religion and faith-related agencies are involved in such diverse areas as
poverty alleviation, education services, low-income housing, drug abuse, and health care
provision. Commonly stated benefits of these agencies span from their ability to interact
with civil society, their emphasis on efficiency, their individual responsibility, and the
encouragement for clients to become personally invested in their own well-being (Smith
and Sosin 2001). These assertions are supported by academic literature in educational
sociology, where Catholic schools are often found to be better performing than their
public and private secular counterparts (Coleman and Hoffer 1987; Sander 1996).
Coleman’s theory of social capital is often cited as an explanation for these positive
effects of religious affiliation, whereby the sacred commitment to God and social closure
within the community are important sources of capital (Coleman 1990). Starting from
this theoretical assumption, whereby religiously affiliated agencies have benefits above
and beyond secular counterparts, this article questions whether it is the religious
affiliation of these agencies in and of itself that provides the benefit.
Inherent in much of the discussion surrounding faith-related agencies assumes that these
organisations operate differently than non-faith-related agencies in the way that they
administer services, cooperate with the state and market, and interact with civil society.
Some authors suggested that the perceived benefits of these agencies are causally linked
to their connection with religion, such that it is religion itself that provides the benefit to
individuals and society (DiLulio Jr. 2002). With an increasing proportion of social
services being provided by civil society agencies, many of which are faith-related, it is
important to understand what aspects of faith-related agencies make them appear more
effective and, more importantly, whether it is religion in and of itself that provides these
benefits.
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Convention