Religious Elements of Church-Based Social Service Programs: Types, Variables and Integrative Strategies
Drawing on case studies of fifteen churches with community-serving activities, this article proposes an inductively-derived model for the ways that church-based social programs can incorporate an explicitly religious character or message. The layers of analysis move from categories of religious attr...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
2004
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 2004, Volume: 45, Issue: 4, Pages: 317-335 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Drawing on case studies of fifteen churches with community-serving activities, this article proposes an inductively-derived model for the ways that church-based social programs can incorporate an explicitly religious character or message. The layers of analysis move from categories of religious attributes or activities that may be included in social service programs, to variables describing the presentation of these religious elements, to strategies for how these elements may be integrated with service delivery. Religious program elements fall into nine categories: religious self-descriptions, religious objects in the program environment, invitations to religious activities, prayer, use of sacred texts, worship, sharing of personal testimonies, religious teachings, and invitations to a personal faith commitment. Seven variables further describe the format or style of these religious program elements, examining the extent that religious elements are mandatory, part of the formal program structure, relevant to the social benefit, specific to one faith, corporate or individual, frequent, and intense. From this follows five general strategies for integrating a religious dimension into a social service program: implicit, invitational, relational, integrated-optional, and integrated-mandatory. This model suggests the need for follow-up research to develop a more complete and accurate portrait of the diverse expressions of faith in religious social service programs. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511989 |