Triggered to Thinking

Charitable Choices: Religion, Race, and Poverty in the Post-Welfare Era by John P. Bartkowski and Helen A. Regis is an interesting ethnographic study of faith-based poverty relief in the South. The work draws upon interviews and analysis of faith-based groups in Mississippi. This post will analyze aspects of the book with a comparative lens for other faith-based relief efforts and actions. 

John P. Bartkowski and Helen A. Regis begin by analyzing the politics of faith-based aid. The authors note, “under the legal provision, charitable choice, faith-based organization of various stripes—religious congregations, interfaith ministries, and denominational relief agencies—have been thrust into the center of America’s welfare-to-work transition and community revitalization efforts” (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 1). An examination of George W. Bush’s endorsement of faith-based programs and charitable choice is presented (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 5). Next, the authors touch on critics of charitable choice, including Christopher Hitchens’ 1997 work on Mother Teresa and how politicians and corporate elites used their affiliation with Mother Teresa to advance their own political careers and economic interests (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 7). Different statistics of the public trust in religion are provided, and the Church of Scientology fared more poorly than others, with only 26 percent of Americans favoring the support of this sect (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 9). The authors mention how different parables of Jesus can relate to themes of compassion and forgiveness (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 17).

Next, the authors analyze a survey of religious desire to help with poverty relief through different actions. The authors are keen to note that only one chapter cannot possibly include all of the detailed history of religiously motivated aid (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 27). A survey of the “Poor Laws” is presented, as these laws were designed to help less fortunate citizens. The Elizabethan Poor Law was first adopted and applied throughout England in 1601 (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 27). Later in the chapter, a discussion of religious revival during the First Great Awakening in American history is presented. The eighteenth century also saw the establishment of private entities to perform charitable work (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 33). Next, the chapter discusses the impact of the New Deal in the 1930s, and a discussion of the expansion of welfare programs beginning in the 1960s is examined. The authors note to end the chapter, “In the post-welfare era, charitable choice significantly expands opportunities for the forging of public-private partnerships between the state and religious organizations” (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 59).

The authors analyzed faith-based poverty relief efforts in Mississippi congregations. Different congregations held material and nonmaterial forms of relief in different ways (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 65). Several informants for the study acknowledged free dinners at church. Pastors would also use services like this to add volunteers to different aid programs. An aid provision strategy mentioned is “Intensive Benevolence,” which involved intensive engagement with the poor (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, pp. 65–66). Elder Reeves was a church leader who distributed food to the poor. Hopewell Church is a congregation that was situated in a privileged and affluent white neighborhood but was located close to Black neighborhoods experiencing scarcity (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 68). Religious leaders would also navigate friendship and kinship networks to discover an individual’s specific needs in order to remedy the situation (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 73). Another strategy mentioned was parachurch collaboration, in which local congregants created alliances with parachurch relief agencies (Bartkowski & Regis, 2003, p. 78). These agencies created network ties across congregational and denominational lines. As such, they brought religious leaders from different traditions into collaboration.

How else can Christians respond to the needs of the poor? Paul Bouvier mentions several things in his essay, The Mission of the Churches amid the Social Reality of Rich and Poor Nations, in the anthology God and Global Justice: Religion and Poverty in an Unequal World. He mentions the proposal made by Pope Paul VI in Bombay to create a “world fund” from military expenses and munitions that could instead be used to address the needs of the underprivileged (Bouvier, 1985, p. 115). The mission of the church is thus broadly seen to be a community of life.

Caritas Internationalis is an organization that is mentioned, and it is still active today. This organization provided emergency relief operations to Yemen after an earthquake in 1982 and farming assistance to farmers in Bangladesh (Bouvier, 1985, p. 117). In a somewhat related manner, the Waldensian Church in Italy offers nine guest houses across the country. These guest houses are offered at low prices and are designed to help the elderly, minors, immigrants, and refugees (American Waldensian Society, n.d.).

How can other religious traditions respond to the needs of the poor? Pamela J. Prickett engaged in an ethnographic study of the Masjid Al-Quran community in South Central Los Angeles. She notes, “Believers at MAQ rejected the idea that only the wealthy are obligated to feed the poor and instead stressed that every Muslim is obliged to help the less fortunate. Feeding people in the neighborhood was a constitutive component of how believers fulfilled their zakat” (Prickett, 2019, p. 26). Believers in this community formed an extensive network where they exchanged services, served their community, and helped both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Amira Mittermaier explored Islamic charities during times of revolution in her work Giving to God: Islamic Charity in Revolutionary Times. She discusses the actions of a Sufi imam known as Shaykh Salah, who was devoted to charitable giving.

In relation to Sufi communities, she notes:

“Food distribution (itʿām al-ṭaʿām) in Sufi communities was first documented in the mid-twelfth century, and by the mid-sixteenth century had become the sine qua non for Sufi seekers who understood service as a spiritual practice (Rodriguez-Mañas 2000). Called zāwiyah, khanqah, or takiyah depending on the geographical context, communal kitchens and Sufi lodges offered poor relief, handed out stocks of food, and provided temporary accommodation to travelers, pilgrims, and beggars. They also provided refuge during times of political turmoil; in Morocco, they were sanctuaries to outlaws and to opponents of the ruling dynasty.” (Mittermaier, 2019, p. 52)

Sufi places for food distribution are called khidmas. For Shaykh Salah, these places are related to feeding “those who ask regardless of who they are” (Mittermaier, 2019, p. 52). Salah was interviewed in 2011, where he explained that he cooked daily. This was due in part to the Egyptian Revolution, but also because giving food to the hungry was part of a “divine minimum wage” (Mittermaier, 2019, p. 53).

A common theme among Christian and Islamic acts of charity is the power of community outreach. Members reach out to the poor, and acts of service are seen as crucial for helping those in need. Also, in the case studies provided here, poverty relief is not limited to members of one’s own religious community.

On a personal note, I volunteered at the Salvation Army, a Christian nonprofit. I distributed food to people experiencing homelessness during my time at San Jose State University. We did not ask whether those receiving food were Christian or not. This was a truly rewarding experience that I enjoyed being a part of.

Works Cited

American Waldensian Society. (n.d.). Guest houses in Italy. https://www.waldensian.org/guest-houses-in-italy/

Bartkowski, J. P., & Regis, H. A. (2003). Charitable choices: Religion, race, and poverty in the post-welfare era. New York University Press.

Bouvier, P. (1985). The mission of the churches amid the social reality of rich and poor nations. In F. Ferré & R. H. Mataragnon (Eds.), God and global justice: Religion and poverty in an unequal world. Paragon House.

Mittermaier, A. (2019). Giving to God: Islamic charity in revolutionary times. University of California Press.

Prickett, P. J. (2019). Believing in South Central: Everyday Islam in the City of Angels. University of Chicago Press.