In most rigorous thinking on the matter, traditional charity is the foil for more effective or meaningful practices - "justice," addressing "root causes," or "personal transformation." But charity remains the primary way in which the church actually engages with those in poverty. A more nuanced view will show how charity actually serves a broad range of political, social, and theological ends.

Building on the existing discussion of faith-based organizations, I show how processes like professionalization, privatization, and secularization have profoundly shaped contemporary Christian practices. This approach employs recent scholarship on secularism as a significant conversation partner, going beyond questions of belief to examine how secularism shapes practices and institutions. Supplemented by sociological accounts of social services and paying careful attention to the voices of those in poverty, I trace the tensions between the self-understandings of service providers and the actual experiences of those seeking assistance. Charity has often been a vital resource for Christian witness, church growth, and service to those in poverty, but it can also serve a number of less noble ends, including the alienation of those in poverty from the church. This dissertation will provide new questions and categories for understanding Christian practices of charity, contributing to a critical discussion of how charity can better serve the vocation of the church.