|
Disciplines
• Community Development
• Community Building
Community and leadership development:
Religious groups play both upfront and behind-the-scenes
roles in community and leadership development.
Many religions place value on community,
inter-connectedness and cooperation. Religious
leaders can be rallying forces for neighborhood
change, be outspoken for and against development
issues, and may parlay their religious leadership
skills and support into political or community
leadership. Similarly, community and political
leaders may be guided in their decision-making
and policy by their religious beliefs.
Local involvement:
Understanding the religious climate of your
community and the resources religious groups
can provide may aid in community decision
making and sound policy choices. Effective
community development and building rely
on understanding economic and social patterns,
which may be related to religion. Religious
groups may be aware of community needs as
far as poverty or resources due to outreach
to underserved communities.
Many local activists
based in churches, synagogues, mosques and
other religious affiliations work to improve
neighborhoods, cities and individuals' lives.
Known as faith-based or congregation-based
community organizing, such groups often
partner with secular organizers, unions
and civic and neighborhood groups. Some
use aggressive tactics and are highly political,
yet most are nonpartisan. Experts say that
in 2000, at least 3,500 congregations and
500 union locals, public schools, PTAs and
neighborhood groups worked on issues including
jobs, public safety, schools, housing and
access to health care. Researchers say most
American cities have at least one of these
networks, which provide training and support
and help set local agendas. One of the largest,
California-based Pacific Institute for Community
Organizing has affiliates pushing 50 projects
in 150 cities in 16 states, involving an
estimated 1,000 congregations and a million
families.
Cooperation: Speaking
with religious groups about a community's
needs can be used in addition to traditional
approaches, such as designing economic models,
demographic analysis, mapping, fiscal analysis,
technological adoption and other tools.
People of faith often enjoy engaging in
public conversation, critiquing prevailing
norms and cooperatively imagining a community
future. Working with religious individuals
and networks, understanding their resources,
and being aware of religious demographics
is useful when trying to strengthen community-based
groups and nonprofits, or foster local entrepreneurship
and business growth.
Religious groups can also
be helpful when developing community emergency
management programs. Many groups have response
systems in place to help others in case
of emergency. Faiths such as the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
hold self-reliance as a spiritual tenet,
believing that preparing for the future
dispels fear. Individuals and families are
urged to prepare for emergencies spiritually,
financially, by storing a year's supply
of food, and having basic emergency and
first-aid supplies available.
First
Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion &
Public Life
Religion &
Public Life
Journal
of Religion & Society
Sociology
of Religion
Religion,
State & Society
Religion in Life
American
Academy of Religion Syllabi Search
Religion
and Diversity in American Society
Haverford College
Religion,
Culture and Society
Michael R. Leming
St. Olaf College
Association of Muslim Health Professionals
Christian Community Health Fellowship
Family Christian Association of America
Fellowship of Christian Firefighters
Firefighters for Christ
• Also see listing for Business
• See a full list of professional associations and resources here.
|
