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Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Organizations: Welfare, Policy and Religion in American Politics

Matthews, Ronald Eric, Jr.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1164121218

Abstract Details

2006, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science.
Apart from its profound political significance, there is every indication that the welfare reform legislation of 1996 (Personal Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act, PWORA) has altered the landscape of American religion. Through Section 104 of PWORA, also known as Charitable Choice, religious congregations, interfaith ministries and denominational work relief agencies- have been thrust into the center of America’s welfare to work transition and community revitalization efforts. Charitable Choice makes it illegal for state governments to discriminate against social service providers who organization has a religious mandate. This dissertation examines Charitable Choice- and more broadly, the changing relationship between religion and social welfare- as its primary point of departure for investigating faith-based poverty relief in the post-welfare era. This research employs a mixed methods approach to understanding the role of Protestant evangelicals in addressing the needs of the poor and specifically their role in the implementation of Charitable Choice. To accomplish this task, two national surveys, one individual and one congregational, are used to explore the role of religiosity and the creation of Protestant evangelical sub-cultures and their effects on civic engagement, volunteerism and support for Charitable Choice. It then triangulates this data with qualitative research to develop a clearer understanding of the issues that affect participation rates and public welfare delivery systems. In-depth interviews of thirty-six Protestant evangelical ministers from central Appalachia are conducted and analyzed. This research provides a more comprehensible understanding of the complex role theological beliefs, religious culture and religious convictions play in public policy delivery. This research examines the wide range of religious beliefs and moral convictions that Protestant evangelical congregations and individuals "adopt to negotiate the countervailing ethical demands of compassion and moral rectitude" (Bartkowski and Regis 2003, 3). This research demonstrates that social capital, in this case bridging and bonding activities (Putnam 2000) can serve both integrative and exclusionary ends. It pays careful attention to the role religious convictions and beliefs play in reinforcing or transforming social and religious boundaries in matters pertaining to poverty relief and the delivery of public policy initiatives
Erin O'Brien (Advisor)
176 p.
Political Science, General
charitable choice; faith-based organizations; welfare; poverty; evangelicals

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Matthews, Jr., R. E. (2006). Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Organizations: Welfare, Policy and Religion in American Politics [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1164121218

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Matthews, Jr., Ronald. Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Organizations: Welfare, Policy and Religion in American Politics. 2006. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1164121218.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Matthews, Jr., Ronald. "Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Organizations: Welfare, Policy and Religion in American Politics." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1164121218

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1164121218
1,103
© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.