Brian Steensland Kristin Geraty Indiana University
Using qualitative research methods to study the origins of religious congregations? political mobilization, this study aims to discover how people of faith engage in public life. It investigates the cultural processes that transform previously nonpolitical (or marginally political) religious congregations into serious political actors. At issue is why some congregations engage in and advocate for systemic solutions to social problems while nearby congregations engage in more typical forms of charity work or do not engage in public life at all.
The study draws on approximately 80 in-depth interviews with community organizers and key informants within religious congregations; participant observation at training sessions, worship services, meetings, actions and campaign events; and textual analysis of extensive archival material. The project compares a sample of congregations in suburban Chicago who engage in broad-based community organizing with a sample of demographically similar congregations that either engage in community life in other ways or do not engage at all. The community organization?s institutional membership includes Catholic, mainline and evangelical Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim congregations and is affiliated with a national network of community organizations.
In a political and economic climate with fewer and fewer resources available to address citizens? concerns, non-partisan faith-based community organizations provide an important avenue for addressing local issues such as housing, education, and healthcare. This project will shed light on how people of various faiths navigate and negotiate the obstacles that result from ecumenical and interfaith endeavors.
