R. Drew Smith

Churches and the Urban Poor: Interaction and Social Distance

Although the social isolation of the urban poor has been well documented, the analysis has only alluded to, and rarely detailed, the isolation of the urban poor from churches and other religious institutions. This article outlines fmdings from survey research conducted in three low-income housing complexes in Indianapolis, focusing on the extent to which the housing complex residents had been contacted by churches, had attended churches, and had become members of churches. The survey data confirms both a scarcity of direct church-initiated contact with low-income neighbors; and a significantly smaller percentage of church attendance and membership among the housing complex sample than among Americans in general. A number of socio-cultural factors are proposed as explanation for low levels of interaction between churches and low-income populations, including cultural predispositions by churches and the urban poor toward one another.

Congregations in Low-Income Neighborhoods and the Implications for Social Welfare Policy Research

Social scientists have an abundance of information about congregations to inform religion and social welfare policy discussions in the United States. But their data tend to come from congregations located outside low-income neighborhoods, not congregations inside them. This may limit their ability to make definitive claims, especially to policy makers, about social welfare practices and the potential of congregations located in low-income neighborhoods to aid in poverty reduction initiatives. Are the literature’s findings about social service provisions by congregations applicable to congregations located in poor places? Using a data set of congregations located in the vicinity of public housing complexes in four cities, the authors explore this question. In the process, they discern factors that influence social service provisions by congregations located in low-income neighborhoods, identifying congregation income, clergy education, and congregation residency as the most significant predictors of social service activity. The authors conclude by identifying future research directions.

Long march ahead : African American churches and public policy in post-civil rights America

Contributors: Cathy J. Cohen Megan McLaughlin Columba Aham Nnorum Michael Leo Owens Desiree Pedescleaux Barbara D. Savage R. Drew Smith Emilie Townes Christopher Winship

BLACK DENOMINATIONAL RESPONSES TO U.S.-MIDDLE EAST POLICY SINCE 9/11

Abstract Although black denominational officials have voiced opinions on post-9/11 U.S.-Middle East relations, several barriers to visibility and effectiveness have hindered the prominence of these views. It is plausible that, by possibly shunning the black religious communitys voice because of its often critical stances toward international U.S. policies, post-9/11 media coverage partly accounts for this hindrance. However, it is more likely that internal deficiencies in the advocacy capacities of historically black denominations account for the hindrance. For example, historically black denominations generally have no advocacy offices in Washington, their denominational websites contain very little public policy information, and they rarely produce and disseminate public policy materials among their constituencies.

AFRICAN PILGRIMAGE AND AMERICAN SOCIAL IDENTITY

The author led Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA) student volunteers to Lesotho and South Africa in 1983, and then co-led a group of student volunteers in Sierra Leone in 1984. He returned in 1985 and 1986 as OCAs Africa Program Deputy Director. The author realized how his commitment to service and social bridge building was tied to his American social identity, and various encounters with Africans revealed that they viewed him primarily as a representative of America, regardless of his race. He also learned that although apartheid has ended, youth have a unique ability to bridge the racial separations that remain in South Africa and elsewhere.

RELIGION, RACE, AND THE MAKING OF AMERICAN GLOBAL CITIZENS

Several pioneering African American leaders challenged inherent religious and racial limitations in historic American exceptionalism and American foreign policy. Operating in a 20th-century context that included anti-colonial fervor and the secularization of global voluntary service, they pursued an American global engagement that allowed racial and religious identity to serve as a bridge rather than a barrier. These leaders, many of whom were clergy, challenged the blatant privileging of US interests and priorities in Americans’ interactions with developing nations. Their example of engagement has implications for the security challenges America faces today.

BEGINNINGS AND LEGACIES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GLOBAL SERVICE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPRING 2012 ISSUE

An introduction to the Spring 2012 (Volume 10, Number 1) issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs, a special issue on the theme, “Religion and African American Leadership in Global Volunteerism.” Both the Peace Corps and Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA) recently celebrated 50th anniversaries, and this theme issue explores how these organizations formalized models of global service and citizen diplomacy that have significantly advanced cross-cultural awareness and shaped American foreign relations, especially relations with developing countries. Contributors include African American leaders and others who participated in Peace Corps or OCA programs.

Introduction: CHRISTIANITY AND CONFLICT IN AFRICA

Abstract Christianity is growing faster in sub‐Saharan Africa than anywhere in the world, and African churches have varied in their ability to respond effectively to hopes for peace and restoration within conflict and post‐conflict situations on the continent. Churches are important institutions within Africa’s characteristically weak civil society sector; their moral and social capital has contributed to the mediation of hostilities and movement toward peace and reconciliation. In other cases they have prioritized justice in ways that placed them directly at odds with the conflicting parties or have identified too closely with one or another party within the conflict.

BALANCING FAITH-BASED STRATEGIES IN U.S.-AFRICA POLICY

Abstract Domestic and foreign policy collaborations between the faith sector and the federal government on social programming have increased, especially through President Bushs Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). As U.S. policymakers emphasize social service provision, however, they give less funding to faith-based programs in conflict resolution, peacemaking, civic awareness, democratic reform, or social change—all of which are highly relevant to U.S. foreign policy objectives around the world, andespecially in Africa. The government should expand partnerships with faith-based organizations addressing such diverse concerns. These partnerships should be guided less by ideology than by a commitment to addressing social urgencies.