Getting Saved from Poverty: An Investigation of the Effect of Religion in Programs That Help the Poor Find and Keep Employment

Team Members/Contributors

William H. Lockhart University of Virginia Contact Me

About this dissertation fellowship

Ministry to the poor has a new face in America. One feature is the Charitable Choice provision of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act which allows federal funds to go to explicitly religious organizations in their efforts to help the poor. This provision may well contribute to an expansion of religious programs for the poor. A second feature is a shift in the style and emphasis of welfare-to-work and similar programs. These new programs provide more than just job training or placement, they also teach life skills, including appropriate office manners and dress, improving one’s self-esteem, dealing with conflict, and learning how to balance family and work. These life skills are taught within highly interpersonal webs of relationships created by the programs, which often include small groups and personal mentors.

My dissertation analyzes the social processes that are reported to be involved in successful negotiations of the paths out of poverty and into adequate employment. I contrasts pairs of secular and religious welfare-to-work programs to highlight how the religious programs differ. The results of my research will describe the institutional change happening in religious poverty programs and analyze how faith is being applied in the lives of clients, volunteers and staff in these programs.

Image Title Year Type Contributor(s) Other Info
  Getting Saved From Poverty: Religion in Poverty-to-Work Programs 2001 Dissertation William H. Lockhart