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Zusatztext "Robert Wuthnow . . . is one of the top sociologists of religion in the world. Saving America is a must read for anyone concerned about religion! politics! and America's future." ---Jack T. Hanford! Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Informationen zum Autor Robert Wuthnow is Gerhard R. Andlinger '52 Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. His books include American Mythos: Why Our Best Efforts to Be a Better Nation Fall Short (Princeton), Acts of Compassion , and Poor Richard's Principle . Klappentext On January 29, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order creating the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. This action marked a key step toward institutionalizing an idea that emerged in the mid-1990s under the Clinton administration--the transfer of some social programs from government control to religious organizations. However, despite an increasingly vocal, ideologically charged national debate--a debate centered on such questions as: What are these organizations doing? How well are they doing it? Should they be supported with tax dollars?--solid answers have been few. In Saving America? Robert Wuthnow provides a wealth of up-to-date information whose absence, until now, has hindered the pursuit of answers. Assembling and analyzing new evidence from research he and others have conducted, he reveals what social support faith-based agencies are capable of providing. Among the many questions he addresses: Are congregations effective vehicles for providing broad-based social programs, or are they best at supporting their own members? How many local congregations have formal programs to assist needy families? How much money do such programs represent? How many specialized faith-based service agencies are there, and which are most effective? Are religious organizations promoting trust, love, and compassion? The answers that emerge demonstrate that American religion is helping needy families and that it is, more broadly, fostering civil society. Yet religion alone cannot save America from the broad problems it faces in providing social services to those who need them most. Elegantly written, Saving America? represents an authoritative and evenhanded benchmark of information for the current--and the coming--debate. Zusammenfassung Addresses questions such as: Are congregations effective vehicles for providing broad-based social programs, or are they best at supporting their own members? How many local congregations have formal programs to assist needy families? This book represents an evenhanded benchmark of information for the coming-debate. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Tables ix Preface xiii 1. Why "Faith-Based"? Why Now? 1 Bringing Evidence to Bear 5 Beyond the Modernization Story 9 The Faith-Based Services Debate 12 Religion as an Embedded Practice 17 A Civil Society? 22 2. Congregation-Based Social Services 25 Formal Sponsorship of Service Programs 28 Members' Awareness of Service Programs 42 Congregations' Financial Contribution 46 Which Congregations Do More? 52 How Service Programs Are Organized 57 Conclusions and Unanswered Questions 61 3. Congregations as Caring Communities 64 Emphasizing the Value of Caring 66 Congregations as Civic Space 70 Caring in Small Groups 74 Congregations as Sources of Social Capital 79 Gregariousness 84 Congregations as Sources of Influential Friends 89 Overcoming Status Distinctions 92 Summing Up 94 4. Religion and Volunteering 99 What Surveys Show 102 Who Volunteers More? 106 Is Faith-Based Volunteering Different? 115 Volunteering and Connectedness 119 Motivations for Volunteering 121 Barriers to Volunteering 132 Some Unresolved Questions 135 5. Faith-Based Service Organizations 138 How Many Faith-Based Organizations Are There? 140 How ...
