Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Over the past decade, an increasing number of scholars have reintroduced religion into the study of American politics. Included in this new wave of research is research focused on “social capital” in the United States. The social capital line of research has become interested in religion in part as it is manifest in the rise of Faith Based Organizations (FBOs). While increased scholarly interest in FBOs can serve to invigorate the discussions of how religious Americans shape politics and society, we must carefully note how religion is treated in these emerging social capital studies. What role do religion and Faith play in the social capital framework? What are religion and Faith credited with doing? When are religion and Faith no longer included in the analysis? This paper will attempt to address such questions by presenting a close-reading of Mark R. Warren’s Dry Bones Rattling.

The paper makes two central arguments. First, the paper argues that Warren places too much separation between the religious and the political, when in fact the political becomes religious for Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) participants. Second, and building on this distinction between what constitutes the political and religious spheres, it will be argued that although Warren readily acknowledges the role of religion in the IAF, in the final analysis he writes Faith out of the picture.

The paper is organized into three sections. Section I provides an introduction to the issues at hand, attempting to address several prominent objections to the paper’s premise. Section II provides the bulk of the analysis, a detailed reading of Dry Bones Rattling text. Section II answers the question, “How exactly does Warren write about religion?” Section III presents a discussion of the implications of the findings in Section II, addressing the question, “Why does it matter that Warren treats religion in this way?”

Section II highlights three patterns of note. First, it will be argued that Warren consistently presents a story of social activism that is “based” in Faith, but eventually moves toward a more secular purpose. In one sense, this is the difference between a “Faith-based” vs. “Faith-centered” description of FBOs. Warren treats the idea of “Faith-based” as meaning primariliy that an FBO has its foundation and origin in Faith traditions. He does not give adequate attention to the notion that FBOs are also Faith-centered organizations – always and everywhere aware of God’s presence in their lives and work. Second, and related to the first point, the paper will argue that Warren repeatedly downplays or ignores comments from his research subjects that would point toward a more central role for Faith and God in the IAF’s story. Taking a close look at the way Warren treats these God-centered quotes reveals that although Warren is willing to put the quotes in front of the reader, he is not willing to dwell on the theological content the quotes contain. Third, the paper will suggest that Warren’s references to Sacred Scripture strip the Scriptures of much of what makes them unique to the Faith traditions from which they come.

In Section III, the paper will address three important implications of these three patterns in the text. First, because the IAF is not considered as a Faith-centered organization, a false dichotomy is created between the work of the IAF and the Christian Right. The theology of the IAF is not deeply probed, and the theology of the Christian Right remains unchallenged. Second, it will be argued that forcing the IAF into the social capital framework prevents the author from witnessing the whole IAF story. A brief comparison will be made between Warren’s work and Rogers (1990) Cold Anger. Third, the paper will conclude with a brief discussion of the public policy implications of Warren’s analysis.

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: Abstract
Historically, faith-based organizations made important contributions in the field of social provision, but with the advent of the modern welfare state, their role diminished dramatically. This article examines and explains the renewed interest in the United States and Britain in publicly funded faith-based social provision. Despite significant differences between the two countries, their governments have endorsed strikingly similar faith-based initiatives that have institutionalized the relationship between the state and faith-based organizations. This study explains the emergence of faith-based initiatives as one component of welfare state restructuring, and more specifically, as a response to the growing problem of minority’ social exclusion in urban areas. Finally, the article explores the possibility of the policy’s spread to other countries.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Is faith stronger than bureaucracy? As part of larger transformations in the welfare state, Charitable Choice and other faith-based initiatives target increased participation by religious organizations. These shifts are based on the belief that faith-based organizations are somehow different from traditional social services providers, capable of avoiding the exigencies of bureaucracy. I conceptualize these legislative efforts as exogenous shocks intended to reorganize the social service delivery system. Using ethnographic data, I uncover multiple logics operating in the delivery of social services in one faith-based organization. The agency is guided by a set of bureaucratic imperatives that structure the formal organization, in this case dictating a move from intensive after-school programming to an in-school mini workshop format. However, in the implementation of programming, individual actors draw on multiple discursive strategies, including a technocratic logic and a logic of compassion. These findings suggest that faith-based organizations are not acting as spaces of personal transformation or providing social services in new ways based on institutionalized practices thought to inhere in religious organizations.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Creative responses to reentry have become the focus of criminological, political, and policy inquiries as the need to diminish recidivism rates has become tantamount to the maintenance of communities, families, and the criminal justice system. This study systematically reviews the effectiveness of faith-based community organizations (FBOs) in reducing recidivism rates of ex-offenders through reentry programming. A review of the evaluative literature on faith-based reentry programs, a background into the emergence of federal funding for faith-based initiatives as well as a discussion of the pertinent criminological theory on the relationship between crime, delinquency, reentry and religion/faith are presented. This study finds that despite widespread political and social support for faith-based organizations and their programmatic reentry efforts, there is a dearth of rigorous evaluative literature on the effect that faith-based programs have on reducing crime, delinquency, and rates of recidivism. However, this study does conclude that, based on theoretical and environmental scans of programs and related literature, faith-based initiatives in reentry, especially those with mentoring components, are worth a leap of faith for criminologists, and merit further research. Policy implications for further study are discussed.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: This poster presentation will provide a review and critique of the current literature on faith-based prison programs. A case study of the Florida Department of Corrections will be presented as an example of how faith-based correctional institutions function, including services that are provided to inmates that are housed in these correctional institutions. Relevant theoretical applications and criminal justice policy will be considered in addition to recommendations for future research.