The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare (review)

Ram Cnaan's latest book underscores the error made by those who would exclude the community service work of congregations from discussions about faith-based initiatives. To be sure, Cnaan recognizes the many differences between religious congregations and professional faith-based social service agencies, in that the latter focus principally on delivering services to disadvantaged populations rather than facilitating worship and ritual practices. However, for scholars who have overlooked the tremendous contribution of congregations to American social welfare, Cnaan's volume sets the record straight. Congregations, the lifeblood of American religion, are key actors in religious people's efforts to ameliorate social problems.

The book begins by laying out the basic features of congregations in America and then proceeds to discuss the historical development of congregations. The substantive portion of the book examines the organizational contours and social service activities of 251 congregations situated in seven American cities — primarily large metropolitan areas, along with one relatively rural community. These congregations are sampled for regional diversity, with each of the coasts, the Midwest, and the South all represented. The Mountain West — populated by an abundance of evangelicals and Latter-Day Saints — is the only area of the country without representation. Nevertheless, with the slate of cities from which the sample is drawn, one could hardly ask for more. Older and newer congregations are included in the sample, as are those with diverse constituencies — in terms of size, racial composition, financial assets, and the like. Notably, the congregations featured in the study offer a wide range of social service activities. Cnaan, a seasoned scholar of faith-based service provision, gives special attention to this facet of congregational life.

One of the most valuable contributions of this volume is Cnaan's keen ability to interweave what's currently known about congregational service provision with new insights from his data. In this way, the volume both engages and extends extant scholarship. The result is that this book is a compendium — a veritable one-stop shop — for congregational service delivery. Cnaan's analysis reveals that congregations administer a great deal of social welfare service programs, as traditionally defined — food pantries, clothing closets, educational programs for youth and families, student scholarships, visitation and recreation programs for the elderly, and international relief. However, more striking is the voluminous slate of informal activities undertaken by congregations that would escape the radar of less sensitive observers — counseling, mutual aid, community fairs and bazaars, musical performances, neighborhood association alliances, and athletic events.

Cnaan does not shy away from the difficult task of putting a numeric value on the social welfare contributions made by American congregations. After careful calculation, he deduces that the overall contribution of a typical congregation to its community averages a whopping $184,000 per year. What types of congregations are most likely to buoy up the civic infrastructure? To this question there are no easy answers. Cnaan discovers that there is no one "congregational type" that sets itself apart from its peers in terms of social service provision. Many different congregations contribute to the social welfare of their communities, through various means. Nevertheless, the most active religious communities generally share a strong normative commitment to civic involvement.

Chapters 8 through 10 present case studies of faith-based congregational action in particular locales. It is this portion of the book in which the stories of congregational life and community action shine through most clearly. Here is where we see, in a phrase, faith in action. Cnaan wisely adopts a flexible range of vision to explore these cases. Cnaan uses an open system approach to study Council Grove, Kansas, congregations in chapter 8. Here, ecological influences on congregational service delivery take center stage. This perspective is perfectly complemented by the closed-system approach he adopts later, in...