Typology of Religious Characteristics of Social Service and Educational Organizations and Programs

Typology of Religious Characteristics of Social Service and Educational Organizations and Programs

Ronald Sider & Heidi Rolland Unruh

The general term faith-based organizations is inadequate because no clear definition exists of what it means to be faith-based. This article proposes an inductively derived sixfold typology of social service and educational organizations and programs based on their religious characteristics: faith-permeated, faith-centered, faith-affiliated, faith background, faith-secular partnership, and secular. The typology is divided into two sections, organizations and programs, recognizing that the religious characteristics of an organization may differ from the programs it operates. The analysis of religious characteristics focuses on the tangibly expressive ways that religion may be manifest in a nonprofit entity. The article provides examples of each type based on case studies of 15 congregations with active community-serving programs. This framework, once empirically tested, can add clarity and precision to research, public discourse, and funding decisions concerning community-serving organizations.

Youth At-Risk for Truancy Detour Into Faith-Based Education Program: Their Perceptions of the Program and Its Impact

Youth At-Risk for Truancy Detour Into Faith-Based Education Program: Their Perceptions of the Program and Its Impact

Jill Witmer Sinha
University of Pennsilvania

Many minority adolescents in the United States today are at a high risk for truancy, dropout, and academic under-achievement. Truancy is related to a host of preceding and subsequent risks such as delinquency and limited vocational outcomes. Using participatory research methods, this federally funded, 10-month study assessed youths' perceptions of a publicly funded, faith-based, alternative education program with 73 minority youth participants who were at risk for truancy. The study assessed whether change occurred in peer dynamics, youths' use of time, and educational aspirations. The program was found to have a positive impact on peer dynamics and the use of both school hours and free time. The program supported or did not hamper educational aspiration. Implications about the impact of alternative education programs for at-risk youth and the faith-based nature of the program are discussed.