Saving America?

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".

"Based on original research, field work and major studies of the last 20 years, this book will undoubtedly become required reading in the ongoing debate about public funding of religious charities."--Publishers Weekly "[A] fine book. Wuthnow carefully and clearly analyzes and evaluates the positive roles American religious elites play in maintaining the diversity and cohesiveness of our society and the acceptance of responsibility for helping those in need."--Library Journal "Wuthnow--as readers of his many previous books would expect--enters this debate armed with good empirical data, which he deftly uses to map out the many interrelated dimensions of faith-based service activity... Wuthnow uses these data ... to address several questions about faith-based services in contemporary America. There is much to learn from his extensive, careful, and clearly presented analyses... In Saving America?, Wuthnow provides much needed, thoughtful empirical analysis of the intertwined relations between churches and social service activities, and in doing so paints a powerful picture of the mutual interdependence of church and state in American society."--Michele Dillon, Commonweal "[An] elegantly written and ambitiously comprehensive book... Wuthnow moves beyond congregations to talk about religion's broader effect on volunteering, service recipients and social and human capital... Few academic books provide [this] perspective because few scholars have such wide expertise."--E. Arthur Farnsley, II, The Christian Century "The overarching message of Saving America? is that ... our civil society is bound together by the glue of love and compassion... Wuthnow takes us through the intricacies of the body politic and sketches, as well, the outlines of the human heart. To this reader the latter is the far more interesting portrait offered in these pages. Who among us give of themselves, how much, to what, and to what end?"--Paul Wilkes, America "Wuthnow's book looks not only at how much faith communities are doing to serve the poor but also at how well they are doing it. Saving America? makes a great contribution to the field's literature... Though the book provides an enormous volume of information regarding the formal social service programs of congregations and faith-based nonprofits, Wuthnow concludes that the most important work that religious believers can do to serve the poor is to build caring communities that enfold people in lasting, supportive relationships."--Amy L. Sherman, First Things "Saving America? is an important text that places the rhetoric and politics of 'compassionate conservatism' in its broader context."--Edward Ashbee, Journal of American Studies "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

• 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 is Faith Involved? 142 How Faith-Based Organizations Function 150 Arguments about Effectiveness 158 The Role of Faith in Nonsectarian Organizations 161 Challenges and Strategies 165 Conclusions 171 6. The Recipients of Social Services 176 Census Bureau Information 177 Evidence from Other Sources 181 Religious Characteristics of the Lower-Income Population 185 Needs and Services in a Small City 191 Conclusions 213 7. Promoting Social Trust 217 Trust among Lower-Income People 219 Desirable Traits of Caregivers 222 Tr ustworthiness of Service Providers 228 A Closer Look at Trust 232 Trust within Families and among Friends 240 Trust in Congregations 243 Trust in Service Agencies 247 When Trust Is Broken 250 The Social Contribution of Trust 254 8. Experiencing Unlimited Love? 256 How Caregivers Talk about Love 261 Do Recipients Experience Love? 269 The Role of Faith 275 Consequences of Receiving Care 279 Limited Love and the Realities of Social Life 284 9. Public Policy and Civil Society 286 Support for Government-Religion Partnerships 288 The Christian Conservative Movement 297 Is Civil Society One-Dimensional? 305 Methodological Note 311 Notes 315 Select Bibliography 333 Index 349