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.

Mapping Your Community's Faith-Based Assets

Mapping Your Community's Faith-Based Assets

An asset inventory tool for collecting and using data on the faith-based community organizations in your city

Spring 2006

Keeping Faith in the Faith-Based Initiative: From Formal Neutrality to Full Pluralism in Government Partnerships with Faith-based Social Services

Keeping Faith in the Faith-Based Initiative: From Formal Neutrality to Full Pluralism in Government Partnerships with Faith-based Social Services

This paper was presented at the 2005 Abraham Kuyper Lecture by Stanley W. Carlson-Thies

Evangelicals Debate Whether Environmental Stewardship is a Pressing Moral Issue

There is a very interesting debate currently taking place among evangelicals. There has been a lot of debate in the National Association of Evangelicals regarding whether or not environmental concern and the stewardship of creation should be one of the important political agenda items that the Church is advocating. Christianity Today has recently joined into this debate.

Some, like James Dobson, feel that this distracts from other moral issues such as homosexuality and abortion. Others, like Richard Cizik from the NAE, feel that this is just as important.

I have been following this debate for the past couple of months. It is a very interesting dialogue that wrestles with the question of who we are as evangelicals. I would encourage you to take a look at both sides of the conversation.

Letter from James Dobson
Challenge by Jim Wallis
Brian McClaren's response
Lynsay Moseley's response
Bill McKibben's reponse
Randall Balmer's response