Congregations' Social Service Activities

Brief #6 from the series "Charting Civil Society," by the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy.

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The 1996 welfare reform legislation envisions an expanded role for congregations and other religious organizations in our social welfare system. Federal, state, and local government agencies are implementing "charitable choice" provisions by encouraging religious congregations to seek government grants and contracts. Recent research has shown that although only about 3 percent of religious congregations currently receive government funding for social service activity, as many as one-third express some interest in moving in that direction.

This policy brief draws on data from the National Congregations Study (NCS), a 1998 survey of a nationally representative sample of congregations, to explore the role religious congregations might play in our changing social welfare system. NCS data were collected via 60-minute interviews with one key informant (a minister, priest, rabbi, or other leader) from 1,236 congregations. The response rate was 80 percent.¹

Who Will Take Advantage of Charitable Choice?

Thirty-six percent of informants believe their congregation might apply for government money to support human services programs if such funding is made available. Three subsets of congregations are particularly likely to express interest in seeking government aid.

First, very large congregations express willingness to take advantage of charitable choice opportunities. Second, informants from 64 percent of predominantly African-American congregations expressed willingness to apply for government funds, compared with only 28 percent from predominantly white congregations. Controlling for other characteristics, predominantly black congregations are five times more likely than other congregations to seek public support for social service activities.

Third, Catholic and theologically liberal or moderate Protestant congregations are significantly more likely to apply for government funds in support of social service activities than are theologically conservative congregations. Forty-one percent of congregations in liberal or moderate Protestant denominations said they are willing to apply for government funds, compared with 40 percent of Catholic congregations and only 28 percent of congregations in conservative denominations. Furthermore, congregations described by their leaders as theologically and politically conservative are significantly less likely to express willingness to apply for government funds even after controlling for denominational affiliation and other characteristics. This result is particularly notable because it presents a stark contrast to the political battle lines on charitable choice. On the national level, political and religious conservatives have been the strongest advocates of charitable choice initiatives; political and religious liberals have been most strongly against them. Locally, the situation is reversed.²

Notes from this section of the report

1. NCS data collection was supported by a major grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., and by additional grants from Smith Richardson Foundation, Inc., The Louisville Institute, The Nonprofit Sector Research Fund of The Aspen Institute, and The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. None of these funders bears any responsibility for the analyses, arguments, or interpretations offered herein. For more detail about NCS data and methods, see Chaves, Mark, et al. 1999. "The National Congregations Study: Background, Methods, and Selected Results." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 38: 458-476.

2. Chaves, Mark. 1999. "Congregations and Welfare Reform: Who Will Take Advantage of 'Charitable Choice'?" American Sociological Review 64 (6): 836-846.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

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