Saving America: Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society
by Robert Wuthnow (published by Princeton University Press, 2004)
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Summary:
Since the welfare reform of the 1990’s, social service organizations are increasingly affiliated with or run by religious organizations. In 2001, President George W. Bush created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The debate over faith-based social service organizations, especially those of the government-funded variety, has gone national. Robert Wuthnow effectively assembles and analyzes the most recent and oft-quoted research on faith-based organizations in his book, Saving America.
Wuthnow begins by giving context for the faith-based service debate and moving quickly into the differences between congregational and traditional faith-based service models. He provides insight into voluntarism, the frequently-neglected point of view of the social service recipient, broader societal concerns like social trust, care giving, and unlimited love, and the future of public policy and civil society. Wuthnow brings most points back to his question of whether faith-based organizations foster civil society. Ultimately he concludes that American religion and faith-based organizations are indeed helping individuals and reinforcing civil society but should never assume the primary responsibility that the government has to assist the neediest of Americans.
Why does FASTEN recommend this resource?
Saving America is a great reference book that compiles information from current research on faith-based social service organizations. In addition, Wuthnow uses that research to examine models for effective programs and desirable traits of care givers. Due to the overwhelming wealth of information, this book is best suited to veteran practitioners seeking to make their programs more effective or any practitioner with time enough on their hands to delve into extensive research and ponder the more intangible qualities of faith-based service programs.
