
The Invisible Caring Hand
Description
Alles über E-Books | Antworten auf Fragen rund um E-Books, Kopierschutz und Dateiformate finden Sie in unserem Info- & Hilfebereich.
Despite the assumption that congregations can help many needy people in our society, it remains to be seen how extensive they wish their involvement to be, or if they have the necessary tools to become significant providers in the social service arena. Moreover, how will such practices, which will move faith-based organizations towards professionalization, ultimately affect the spirit of volunteerism now prevalent in America's religious institutions?
We lack sufficient knowledge about congregational life and its ability to play a key role in social service provision. The Invisible Caring Hand attempts to fill that void. Based on in-depth interviews with clergy and lay leaders in 251 congregations nationwide, it reveals the many ways in which congregations are already working, beneath the radar, to care for people in need. This ground-breaking volume will provide much-sought empirical data to social scientists, religious studies scholars, and those involved in the debates over the role of faith-based organizations in faith-based services, as well as to clergy and congregation members themselves.
Reviews / Votes
"The first systematic and comprehensive social science description of social service contributions of diverse religious congregations. . . . Could not be more timely] or useful to academic and religious community audiences which now seek credible 'handles' for accessing and understanding this newly exposed but surprisingly extensive faith based contribution to human welfare in the United States." - Edward Newman,Temple University "Cnaan has reported an elegant story about religious congregations and their role in providing social welfare assistance. The book is emperically rich, narratively enhanced, and theoretically thick. It not only documents the role of congregations but also identifies their limitations as social welfare providers. The book is informative and catalyzes reflection on the issues. It is grounded in a large, national, multimethod research project spanning the United States, with a limited focus in Canada. The weaving together of these data is impressive. I particularly appreciate the use of case studies to explicate the array of congregational approaches to caring. For aficionados of case study method, of which I am one, these materials are rich, dense, and artfully constructed. The survey data are also well presented. Together, these data provide a story that resembles an artfully constructed mosaic." (Non Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly) "This book provides some much needed insight into the way congregations function in the povision of social services." (Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work) "An important and timely contribution to our understanding. . . . Policy makers and church leaders alike will benefit from Cnaan's groundbreaking investigation of the facts." (The Social Policy Journal) "The Invisible Caring Hand represents an excellent addition to studies focused in understanding the role of local churches in their community." (Sociology of Religion)More details
Other editions
Additional editions


Persons
Content
- Intro
- The Invisible Caring Hand
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I: An Overview of Congregations
- Chapter 1: Congregations in Society
- Chapter 2: The Historical Development of American Congregations
- Part II: Congregations Involvement
- Chapter 3: The Congregations in Our Study
- Chapter 4: Congregational Involvement I
- Chapter 5: Congregational Involvement II
- Chapter 6: Which Congregations Tend to Get Involved
- Chapter 7: Comparing Neighbors
- Part III: Congregations for Society
- Chapter 8: Small-Town Congregations
- Chapter 9: Mediating Structures
- Chapter 10: Social Ministry in the Community
- Part IV: Concluding Remarks
- Chapter 11: Volunteerism and Organized Religion
- Chapter 12: Why and How Congregations Get Involved in Service Delivery
- Chapter 13: The Congregational Norm of Community Involvement
- Chapter 14: The Broader Perspective
- Notes
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
- About the Author
System requirements
File format: PDF
Copy-Protection: Adobe-DRM (Digital Rights Management)
System requirements:
- Computer (Windows; MacOS X; Linux): Install the free reader Adobe Digital Editions prior to download (see eBook Help).
- Tablet/smartphone (Android; iOS): Install the free app Adobe Digital Editions or the app PocketBook before downloading (see eBook Help).
- E-reader: Bookeen, Kobo, Pocketbook, Sony, Tolino and many more (only limited: Kindle).
The file format PDF always displays a book page identically on any hardware. This makes PDF suitable for complex layouts such as those used in textbooks and reference books (images, tables, columns, footnotes). Unfortunately, on the small screens of e-readers or smartphones, PDFs are rather annoying, requiring too much scrolling.
This eBook uses Adobe-DRM, a „hard” copy protection. If the necessary requirements are not met, unfortunately you will not be able to open the eBook. You will therefore need to prepare your reading hardware before downloading.
Please note: We strongly recommend that you authorise using your personal Adobe ID after installation of any reading software.
For more information, see our eBook Help page.