Religion in Philanthropic Organizations

Description

Conflict in actions intended for the common good

Religion in Philanthropic Organizations explores the tensions inherent in religious philanthropies across a variety of organizations and examines the effect assumptions about "professional, scientific, nonsectarian" philanthropy have had on how religious philanthropies carry out their activities. The organizations examined include the American Friends Service Committee, the American Soviet Jewry Movement, Catholic Charities USA, the Salvation Army, the World Council of Churches, and World Vision (in global comparative context). The book also looks at Robert Pierce, founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, and at matters not bounded by a single religious philanthropy: philanthropy and Jewish identity, American Muslim philanthropy since 9/11, and the complexities of the federal program that funds faith-based initiatives. These essays shed light on how religion and philanthropy function in American society, shaping and being shaped by the culture and its notions of the "common good."

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. New Wineskins or New Wine? The Evolution of Ecumenical Humanitarian Assistance
Elizabeth G. Ferris
2. Religious Ambivalence in Jewish American Philanthropy
Shaul Kelner
3. The Price of Success: The Impact of News on Religious Identity and Philanthropy
Diane Winston
4. Heartbroken for God's World: The Story of Bob Pierce, Founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse
David P. King
5. Catholic Charities, Religion, and Philanthropy
Fred Kammer
6. "Intelligent Leadership in the Cause of Racial Brotherhood": Quakers, Social Science, and the American Friends Service Committee's Interwar Racial Activism
Allan W. Austin
7. Religious Philanthropies and Government Social Programs
Sheila S. Kennedy
8. Juggling the Religious and the Secular: World Visions
Susan McDonic
9. Philanthropic Decisions of American Jews: The Influence of Religious Identity on Charitable Choices
Arnold Dashefsky and Bernard Lazerwitz
10. Myth vs. Reality: Muslim American Philanthropy since 9/11
Shariq Siddiqui
Contributors
Index

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Charities
• Philosophie et théologie
• Charitable organization
• Giving
• Stewardship
• Philanthropy

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 26 septembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253009975
• Langue: English

Extrait

PHILANTHROPIC AND NONPROFIT STUDIES
Dwight F. Burlingame and David C. Hammack, editors
RELIGION IN PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATIONS
Family, Friend, Foe?
Edited by Thomas J. Davis
Indiana University Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
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© 2013 by Indiana University Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Religion in philanthropic organizations : family, friend, foe? / edited by Thomas J. Davis. — 1st [edition].
    pages cm. — (Philanthropic and nonprofit studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-00992-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-00995-1 (pbk : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-00997-5 (eb)
1. Faith-based human services—United States. 2. Church charities—United States. 3. Social service—United States—Religious aspects. 4. Humanitarianism—Religious aspects. I. Davis, Thomas J. (Thomas Jeffery), 1958– editor of compilation.
HV530.R247 2013
361.7'50973—dc23                                                                                                                                            2013011147
1 2 3 4 5   17 16 15 14 13
This book is dedicated to the memory of Karen Lake Buttrey, whose vision and generosity were instrumental in the establishment of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction / Thomas J. Davis
1  New Wineskins or New Wine? The Evolution of Ecumenical Humanitarian Assistance / Elizabeth G. Ferris
2  Religious Ambivalence in Jewish American Philanthropy / Shaul Kelner
3  The Price of Success: The Impact of News on Religious Identity and Philanthropy / Diane Winston
4  Heartbroken for God's World: The Story of Bob Pierce, Founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse / David P. King
5  Catholic Charities, Religion, and Philanthropy / Fred Kammer, S.J.
6  “Intelligent Leadership in the Cause of Racial Brotherhood”: Quakers, Social Science, and the American Friends Service Committee's Interwar Racial Activism / Allan W. Austin
7  Religious Philanthropies and Government Social Programs / Sheila S. Kennedy
8  Juggling the Religious and the Secular: World Visions / Susan McDonic
9  Philanthropic Decisions of American Jews: The Influence of Religious Identity on Charitable Choices / Arnold Dashefsky and Bernard Lazerwitz
10  Myth vs. Reality: Muslim American Philanthropy since 9/11 / Shariq A. Siddiqui
Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
T HIS VOLUME EVOLVED from a public symposium entitled “Family, Friend, Foe? The Relationship of Religion and Philanthropy in Religious Philanthropic Organizations,” held on the campus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on October 7–9, 2010, and from a public lecture held at the auditorium of the Indiana Historical Society the next week. I gratefully acknowledge here the following for their generous support and funding for these two events: the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Internal (IAHI) Grant Program; the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI and its dean, Dr. William Blomquist; the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, housed at IUPUI, and its director, Dr. Philip Goff; the IUPUI Department of Religious Studies and its chair, Dr. Peter Thuesen; and the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, with its home at IUPUI in the Center on Philanthropy, and its director, Dr. William Enright. In addition to funding from the Lake Institute, I was privileged to hold, for a three-year period, the Lake Chair in Religion and Philanthropy, from which came funds to help underwrite the symposium and this book. To learn more about the Lake Institute's work and history, please visit http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/lake-about-us .
Two doctoral students in philanthropic studies at IUPUI provided assistance with this project. Thanks go to Peter Weber for his work compiling bibliography related to religion and philanthropy and to William Cleveland for logistical support during the symposium and public lecture.
Introduction
Thomas J. Davis
P HILANTHROPY, AS A descriptive term, has evolved over time, and its particular meaning is often subject to the perspective from which it is studied. From the ancient Greeks, from whom the word came, to contemporary America, the word has meant many things. In the context of its usage in the United States, it has designated a literal and general “love of humanity,” indicated a rational and systematic approach to the elimination of social ills, gained currency as a label for the process of distribution of money and goods by the wealthy, and, most recently, been redefined in a variety of ways to indicate voluntary action (gifts of money, time, commitment, etc.) for the public good. Other definitions can also be found, especially ones that seek to distinguish philanthropy from religious notions of charity and obligation, emphasizing philanthropy's nonsectarian, scientific, and professional nature. This last impulse became a very popular way of looking at philanthropy, especially in the first three-fourths of the twentieth century (and, in fact, persists widely today). 1
Yet much of the emerging scholarly literature on philanthropy (a field of study that has emerged just over the past thirty to forty years, with much of the historical analyses of philanthropy quite recent) notes the close connections between charity and philanthropic work. So, while the two can certainly be distinguished, there is good reason not to separate them because, together, they tell the story of giving, especially in the United States. 2 Thus, many of the motivations that move one toward religious charity can also encourage philanthropic activity. The most common distinction between the two has to do with the ultimate purpose of each: for charity, it is a matter of helping an individual; for philanthropy, it is about changing society for the better (which, of course, in the long run and averaged out, should carry good consequences for individuals).
One can speak, then, of religious philanthropy. By this, one would mean religiously motivated actions (giving, volunteering, etc.) that aim to alleviate ills at a societal level. Though individuals would be helped in the course of the execution of such philanthropic activity, the goal is a betterment of society as a whole. Oftentimes, especially in religious philanthropy (as opposed to foundation-type philanthropy, where the institutional mechanisms are often funded by a wealthy individual), the work is corporate in nature, one that is organized on a scale that exists beyond the individual or small group of individuals.
Of course, giving is a complicated matter, whether undertaken as the charity of an individual, for religious or nonreligious reasons; whether through the mechanisms of an institutionalized philanthropy; or whether it is a gift of time, money, or talent. Especially because many who are engaged in religious philanthropy value giving specifically as a religious responsibility, it is wise to keep in mind just how complicated giving can be. Even when done on a large and seemingly impersonal scale, philanthropy of all kinds is still talked about in terms of giving something that addresses social problems with the intent of making a better world. Certainly, it is helpful to keep in mind the dynamics of the gift economy; someone like Lewis Hyde (relying in part on Marcel Mauss) can help untangle the complexity of a gift, even outside the structure of a strictly gift economy. 3
This complexity is captured, in part, in the argument that “philanthropy inevitably has a two-sided character in which kindness and privilege experience an uncomfortable marriage to one another…. Philanthropy's forms are inextricably wedded to the particular forms of dominance and privilege in each historical time and each historical place.” 4 What is more, if philanthropy is a means by which individuals realize their values, as has been suggested, there will be some level of conflict inherent in the functioning of any philanthropic activity because different individuals and different groups within a society hold substantially different values. 5 Certainly, one would expect this insight to be true in religious philanthropies, wherein those who hold religious worldviews understand philanthropic activity to be an expression of obedience to divine mandate—and not just obedience but also an expression of devotion. Thus, a host of issues—complexities, if you like, or tensions—arises about philanthropic work and its relationship to religion when a religious organization uses such work as a means to realize religious goals.
One could point to a number of salient issues. Donor–donee dynamics certainly come into play in a variety of ways, for example, as one considers that a religious philanthropic organization often serves those of another faith or no faith at all yet still needs to maintain and highlight, for itself and its religious supporters, the essentially spiritual quality of the philanthropic work. An analysis that adopts a stance of solidarity with the donee can call into question the real motives involved in philanthro