An interdisciplinary analysis of faith-based human services: Identifying latent organizational, social and psychological processes

The field of faith-based human services, once the sole purview of religious agencies and organizations, is undergoing profound change. Neo-institutional theory is used to situate the phenomenon in a broad social context and frame ensuing theoretical and empirical analysis. First, I analyze multiple institutional logics guiding the field to determine the degree of consensus and conflict among actors, revealing government's domination of the field at the expense of professionals. Hence, I present a synthetic meaning system to unify the fragmented field. Second, guiding assumptions of the faith-based social service movement are that poor African Americans will utilize faith-based human services and that predominantly Black churches are ideally situated to deliver them. However, these assumptions have not been tested empirically. Chapter 2 empirically examines the likelihood that African American welfare recipients (n = 712) will seek help from members of faith-based organizations; findings support some assertions and dispel others, raising questions about why such a large proportion of respondents might not turn to faith-based organizations (Myers, 1998). Chapter 3 empirically examines the organizational culture of black churches, using a subset of predominantly Black churches (n = 156) from the National Congregation Study (Chaves, 1998). By defining culture as values and actions, findings reveal denominational and organizational differences, as well as disparate program cultures, which has implications for organizational effectiveness in providing human services. Moreover, results simultaneously elucidate the persistence and demise of the much cited historic "toolkits" of black churches. Finally, how do we measure the "faith" in faith-based interventions? What frameworks facilitate comparison between secular and faith-based methodologies, across disciplines and denominations? In Chapter 4, I present an interdisciplinary theoretical review, which invokes health and medical research, to construct an empirically and theoretically based universal template for planning and evaluating faith-based interventions. Future directions for theory, practice and policy are discussed.