Research On Religion » Education

Richard Nielsen on Deadly Clerics

tonygill — Sun, 06 May 2018 08:00:54 +0000

Political rebellion and violence in the Middle East has recently been associated with religious belief and rhetoric, often spurred on by the writings and recordings of Muslim clerics. What motivates imams to advocate such tactics? Prof. Richard Nielsen, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, answers this question with reference to previous theories of revolution and an examination of the career paths of imams who advocate violent jihad. His findings reveal fascinating insights into what prompts individuals down the path of violence and suggests possible solutions to mitigating terrorism.

Our discussion begins with Rich recalling how he, himself, was led down an academic path of studying violent jihad. Initially on a STEM path, his experience watching the September 11 terrorist attacks unfold and a chance encounter with a professor at a Harry Potter film moved him in the direction of studying political science and international relations. He noted that most work on political violence in the Islamic world focuses on lay radicalization, so he turned his attention to what motivated various clerics to radicalize. Rich lays out the parameters of what constitutes an imam in Sunni Islam, pointing out that there is no central authority to determine membership in a priesthood exactly. We learn that “imam” means “to be in the front,” which opens up the definition of who speaks for Islam officially to a wide range of individuals. Rich observes that many people who are not formally trained in theology often present themselves as religious scholars (e.g., Osama bin Laden), sometimes employing the mundane tactic of posing in front of bookshelves to present an intellectual aura. We also discuss what a fatwa is, correcting some of the misperceptions that Westerners have. (Rich also reveals what the topic of the most downloaded fatwa is, and the answer may surprise you.)

Following this discussion, we move into a theoretical discussion of why men rebel. Rich covers the various existing explanations for why Muslims have joined militant movements in recent decades, including ideas that such behavior is inherent in the theology, that it is a response to modernity and secularizing pressure, and the rise of transnational philanthropy. Rich finds little credence in the theological uniqueness of Islam, though he does note that faith can motivate people to undertake actions that overcome pure self-interest. In contrast to these pre-existing theories, he advances a claim that builds upon the work of Ted Gurr who argued that rebel leaders are often prompted into their career paths when they face relative deprivation — expectations about where they should be in life do not match with their current circumstances. Prof. Nielsen then argues that many of the Muslim imams who have turned to advocating for political violence started out with academic ambitions that were frustrated by state action. He illustrates this with a few examples. Our conversation then turns to the use of social media in spreading jihadist thought, and whether or not Gurr’s theory of “relative deprivation” (or Nielsen’s notion of “blocked ambition”) is more noticeable now given that the costs of organizing collective action have decreased with telecommunications technology. Rich points out that sustaining collective action still requires organizational incentives, but it is now more possible for aggrieved individuals to get their message out, be it by Twitter or (a few decades ago) cassette tapes.

We finish the conversation with Prof. Nielsen’s reflections on how political violence can be combatted. He argues for less involvement of religion in politics, something he doesn’t see as a realistic option in Islamic nations in the near future. Another option, though, is to not block that intellectual pathways of budding scholars and clerics. We both note how this is very reflective of our own academic industry. Rich then finishes with some reflections about what he has learned over the course of his studies in the past two decades, noting how individuals often have post-hoc rationalizations for the actions they undertake, and how he started as a firm rational choice scholar devoted to statistical methodology, but developed an appreciation for social psychology and anthropological methods to research (without abandoning his former theoretical and methodological frameworks). Recorded: May 3, 2018.

(Note: At one point during the discussion, Tony accidently attributes “relative deprivation theory” to Charles Tilly and more institutional explanations to Ted Gurr, a mistake that should reveal that he wasn’t paying attention in graduate school.)

Deadly Clerics: Blocked Ambition and the Paths to Jihad, by Richard Nielsen.

Why Men Rebel, by Ted Gurr (mentioned in podcast).

The Audacious Aesthetic, by Flagg Miller (mentioned in podcast).

Masters of the Word, by William Bernstein (mentioned in podcast).

RELATED PODCASTS

Ron Hassner on Religion on the Battlefield.

Ron Hassner on Religion in the Military.

Ron Hassner on Sacred Spaces and Holy Conflict.

Sean Everton on Dark Networks.

Nathan Brown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Jason Klocek on Religious Violence and Repression.

Religious Liberty and Violent Religious Extremism.

Eli Berman on Religious Terrorism.

John Owen IV on Confronting Political Islam, Lessons from the Past.

Aurora Griffin on Being Catholic at Harvard

tonygill — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 09:00:46 +0000

What is it like to be a devout Catholic attending a secular university? What steps can young believers take to ensure the integrity of the faith? Aurora Griffin, a graduate of Harvard University and a junior research scholar at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Catholic University of America, answers these questions and provides valuable insights from her book How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard. After a brief discussion of her current duties at Catholic University, Ms. Griffin provides us with some biographical background on her faith and education growing up, and how she ended up at Harvard. Starting out with the intent to major in biomedical and cardiac research, and a side-interest in philosophy, she details how she ended up on an academic track focusing on the classics. Aurora also discusses the stresses of applying for college and what the first few months on campus are like – intellectually, socially, and religiously. Along the way, we are treated to great bits of advice regarding how to navigate the difficult waters of one’s college career, including the realization that things change.

Aurora then recounts an important story that set her down the course of writing her book about life at Harvard. It was during her graduation dinner with family, friends, and select faculty members that her father offered a toast regarding how significant it was that Aurora kept her Catholic faith so strong throughout college. This came as a bit of surprise as Aurora was expecting a recounting of her various academic achievements, but this point did prompt her to reflect upon the beliefs and practices that kept her strong, write them down, and publish them as bits of advice for other students who would find themselves in her position. When asked what the most important disciplines keeping her faith strong were, she replied that is was: 1) attending Mass regularly; 2) observing all required fasts; and 3) going to confession at least once a year. We discuss how the act of confession helps to promote reflection and humility, and how regular practices (or rituals) such as attending Mass create strong habits in other parts of one’s spiritual and secular life.

The discussion then turns to more specific advice in several areas including choosing one’s community, one’s approach to academics, and how to “live out” faith on a daily basis. Aurora points out that it would be hard to maintain one’s religious faith without a community of like-minded supporters, thus it is important to seek out other students and faculty that share your beliefs. This is a task that is important right from the start. Aurora also discusses her success in forming a Catholic sorority to bring together a community of 35 or so female students who connected with the Daughters of Isabella organization. The Harvard chapter of the Daughters of Isabella initiated their organization with a black tie ball, organized other social events, and became engaged in various charitable activities such as pancake breakfasts to support a local parish and baby showers for low-income mothers. We also discussed what it means to “just be Catholic” on a secular campus and Aurora’s thoughts on how to embrace the teachings of the Church without picking and choosing selectively. Tony asks if building a strong community of like-minded adherents runs the risk of creating a bubble around a student, which then moves us into a discussion of how important it is to also interact with people who are different than you, a lesson she learned at Oxford.

Academically, Aurora champions the importance of finding religious faculty members to interact with, attending conferences, and conversing with guest speakers to campus. She recounts her first meeting with philosopher Peter Kreeft of Boston College while picking him up at an airport in California. This seemingly mundane encounter became the springboard from which further intellectual interactions occurred in Boston. We then talk about “living it out” — i.e., how to be openly religious in our modern world. Aurora raises an interesting question that she heard from one of her friends: “If we lived in a country where Christianity was illegal, would there be sufficient evidence to charge you with?” This provocative question became a measuring stick for Aurora’s own faith and she talks about how rejecting various temptations at social gatherings and keeping the Sabbath are important markers for one’s spiritual developments. She recalls how she would attend Mass regularly on Sunday and spend leisurely afternoons with her friends afterwards as a way of keeping the Sabbath, a difficult task in the high-pressured world of the Ivy League. We also talk about how regular habits of faith may seem robotic and sterile, but really allow a person to avoid things that they could become “hurt by” and how this leads to a more fulfilling and happier life.

The conversation concludes with some of Aurora’s personal reflections on what she has experienced since finishing her book and what her future plans are. Recorded: Janary 12, 2018

How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard: Forty Tips for Faithful College Students, by Aurora Griffin.

Leisure, the Basis of Culture, by Joseph Pieper (mentioned in podcast).

Daughters of Isabella (and the Harvard chapter).

RELATED PODCASTS

Kimberly Conger on Being Christian in Secular Academia.

Bill Clark on an Academic’s Spiritual Journey.

Tim Clydesdale on Vocation and Education.

Joseph Castleberry on Religiously-Based Higher Education.

Chris Gehrz on the Crisis of Christian Colleges.

Marion Larson on Bubbles, Bridges, and Multi-Faith Education.

Hunter Baker on the Future of Higher Education.

Tim Clydesdale on College and Vocation

tonygill — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 08:00:23 +0000

How do we instill a sense of purpose in young adults who are attending college? Do we attempt this at all, or is it merely four years of simply checking boxes and earning a degree? Prof. Tim Clydesdale, a professor of sociology at The College of New Jersey, answers these questions in light of his evaluation of several private college programs funded by the Lilly Endowment Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation Initiative. We tap into Prof. Clydesdale’s earlier work on “emerging adults,” and specifically on the first year after high school. Some new trends among this group of individuals (roughly aged 18-30) are explored. Tim notes that it takes roughly one’s entire 20s to establish a career and find a life partner, and this period of life is noted for having to learn how to manage gratification, negotiate relationships and other “daily life” issues. Rarely is there time to think about and develop one’s broader identity and purpose in life. We talk about how many college students today are having increased difficulty in not only finding purpose in life, but dealing with intensified anxiety surrounding daily life. Tim mentions that roughly 25% of all college students today are receiving some form of mental health treatment. He also reviews the religious outlook of this young demographic, pointing out that a constant 20-30% of individuals in their third decade of life tend to be quite devout, whereas a little less than 30% now consider themselves “nones.” We review what this means (and it doesn’t necessarily mean atheist).

Next, the discussion moves on to the concept of “vocation,” which Tony sees as a very religious concept, but Tim explains that he uses it in a much broader sense which could include finding a purpose or calling from the world, listening to the voice within oneself about who to be, and/or taking one’s skills out to better society. The Lilly Foundation set upon an idea more than a decade ago to fund over 80 unique programs at private colleges and universities devoted to promoting the idea of vocation among students. Most of these schools were religiously-based, though they did cover a smattering of secular liberal arts colleges. The general nature of these programs was difficult to categorize as Lilly allowed colleges to devise a wide range of programs. Tim provides a few examples of programs including ones that emphasized “meaningful work” and sponsored internships, to themed residential halls, to the creation of a choir that had the effect of drawing many more students into participation in weekly chapel services. While the money for these programs dried up in 2009, nearly 9 in 10 of them continued beyond that date, and a network of schools who continued their emphasis on vocation developed (NetVUE, see below for link). Prof. Clydesdale discusses his research design and mission in evaluating these programs, as well as some of his most important findings.

One thing that did stand out was that the programs that focused on sophomores (second-year students) were much more successful than those emphasizing entering students (freshmen) or seniors. The reasoning here was that first-year students were usually too absorbed with just acclimating themselves to being on their own, whereas seniors were becoming more narrowly focused on the next stage of their lives, including finding jobs. The sophomore year was the “sweet spot” that allowed students to do some serious reflection on their life’s calling. Along the way, Tim reviews his category of college students — from the obsessive-compulsive grade hunters to the “beer and circus” party animals. He notes that vocation programs tended to do well amongst students who were idealistically-oriented (as compared to instrumental in their education) and did have some degree of concern over their overall student performance (usually measured by grades). Nonetheless, some students who had a more instrumental outlook on life — i.e., putting in the four years of college to move to the next stage — also benefitted from some of these programs. Another feature of success for these programs was that they were not too small, yet neither were they too big. The best range tended to be about 200-400 students. And where the upper level administrators (e.g., provost, president) were on board with the program, the effort seemed to have greater impact. This moves us into a discussion of how faculty and staff were invigorated by the Lilly Initiative with some “deadwood” and “institutional grumblers” becoming “good citizens” and finding a renewed purpose in their own professional calling. We close with Tim’s personal thoughts on how this study affected his own view of the professoriate. He noted that he has been devoting more attention to teaching and mentoring, as well has having a better understanding for the causes and consequences of anxiety within students. Although this podcast interview doesn’t explicitly focus on religion, it should be of great interest to students, faculty, college administrators, and parents of college-aged students. Recorded: October 2, 23017.

The Purposeful Graduate: Why Colleges Must Talk to Students about Vocation, by Tim Clydesdale.

The First Year Out: Understanding American Teens after High School, by Tim Clydesdale.

The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE).

RELATED PODCASTS

John Fea on the American Bible Society (mentioned in podcast).

Joseph Castleberry on Religious-Based Higher Education.

Hunter Baker on the Future of Higher Education.

Kevin den Dulk on Religion, Education, and Civic Engagement.

Rick Walston on Distance Learning and Seminary Education.

Kimberly Conger on Being Christian in Secular Academia.

Bill Clark on an Academic’s Spiritual Journey.

Chris Gerhz on the Crisis of Christian Colleges.

Marion Larson on Bubbles, Bridges, and Multi-Faith Education.

Aaron Saiger on Religion and Charter Schools.

Robert D. Rubin on Judicial Review & the Religious Right

tonygill — Sun, 28 May 2017 08:00:08 +0000

Prior to the 1980s, conservative evangelical Christians were skeptical of the US federal court system, having suffered a number of setbacks within the Supreme Court involving issues such as education and abortion. This begins to change in the 1980s as the now organizationally-consolidated Religious Right began a new legal strategy of embracing judicial review and positioning themselves as an aggrieved minority. Dr. Robert D. Rubin, an independent scholar who earned his Ph.D. at Indiana University, discusses how this change occurred in the legal and social crucible of Mobile, Alabama in the 1980s. After a bit of background on how Dr. Rubin discovered this topic, we review the religious and political landscape of both the United States, writ large, and the US South, in particular noting important changes such as the Civil Rights Movement and various Supreme Court Decisions (e.g., Epperson v Arkansas) that gave rise to the Religious Right movement. We then examine two very specific cases that passed through the chambers of Judge Brevard Hand — Jaffree v Board of School Commissioners and Smith v Board of School Commissioners. The Jaffree case involved an atheist parent who had a problem with a school prayer that his child was being forced to recite in a public school. The second case involving Douglas Smith took up the issue whether the public school curriculum in Mobile County was advancing the religion of “secular humanism.” Robert details the dimensions of these cases and notes how Smith v Board saw religious conservatives going on the offensive and employing some of the arguments used to remove prayer from the school to place religion on an even playing field. Tony then questions Dr. Rubin about the character and judicial philosophy of Brevard Hand. The conversation includes reflections upon Robert’s various meetings and interviews with Judge Hand, a man who challenges the stereotypes of the “rotund and suspender-wearing judges” often depicted on television. We also review the justice’s legal philosophy, which emphasized the principles of republican majoritarianism, federalism, and self-reliance. Tony picks up a whiff of Alexis de Tocqueville in this discussion and asks Robert if he noticed any particular books in Judge Hand’s personal library, to which he gives an interesting and revealing answer that provides insight into the mind of southerners. (To find out what book it was, you will have to listen to the podcast… or read the links below.) We close our podcast with Robert’s reflections about what he learned throughout the research process, wherein he learned to see the importance of viewing the world through the eyes of others, and a bit of discussion about his next project that examines the importance of prayer in enhancing civil discourse. Recorded: May 10, 2017.

RELATED LINKS

Robert D. Rubin’s LinkedIn page.

Judicial Review and American Conservatism: Christianity, Public Education, and the Federal Courts in the Reagan Era, by Robert Daniel Rubin.

Jaffree v Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County

Smith v Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County

The Mind of the South, by W.J. Cash (mentioned in podcast).

RELATED PODCASTS

Paul Harvey on Religion in the American South.

Nathanael Snow on the Evangelical Coalition and Public Choice.

James Patterson on MLK, Fulton Sheen, and Jerry Falwell.

Hunter Baker on the Past & Future of the Religious Right.

Jon Shields on Democratic Values and the Christian Right.

David Dixon on Religious Rhetoric and the Civil Rights Movement.

Matthew Franck on Hobby Lobby and Religious Freedom Jurisprudence.

Matthew Franck on Hosana-Tabor and Ministerial Exemptions.

Mark David Hall on Religious Accommodations and the Common Good.

David Cortman on Religious Liberty Updates.

Kyle Roberts on Evangelical Gotham

tonygill — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 09:00:32 +0000

Gotham. The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. New York City. We have many images of New York City, but how many of us as thinking of that worldly city having a vibrant evangelical community in the 19th century? Kyle Roberts, an assistant professor of history at Loyola University (Chicago), takes us on a journey back to Manhattan Island from on a journey dating to the end of the Revolutionary War and to the eve of the Civil War to show how evangelical Christianity was shaped by this growing urban metropolis and how evangelicals, in turn, shaped the city. The interview is peppered with vivid characters who illustrate the distinct phases of evangelicalism during this seven decade period. Prof. Roberts defines what he means by evangelical Christianity, a religious movement that emphasized conversion, literalism, atoning for the death of Christ, individualism, and social activism/revivalism. He further lays out the interesting tension between the individualistic impulse of evangelicalism and its episodic concern for social activism. We then start the historical journey in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War and up to the War of 1812, meeting a businessman-turned-preacher, Charles Lahatt who was tapped to give a sermon on his voyage across the Atlantic as the Anglican pastor was too drunk to do so. New York, a port city of roughly 20,000 people, was beginning a major population and many individuals from Britain journeyed by boat to this new land. That voyage shaped the evangelical Christianity of this period with a focus on “crossing” (a conversion experience) and “dwelling” (creating a new life). We discover that evangelicals create and embrace the image of a “common church,” often built into storefronts, a tendency that defines much of New York religiosity to this day (see the podcasts by Tony Carnes below). He also emphasizes the role that women played in the expansion of evangelical Christianity as they were often the champions of benevolence societies. The second major period of Kyle’s study moves us from the War of 1812 to the Panic of 1837. New York is experiencing more growth, both demographically and economically. This becomes the “golden age of evangelical benevolence” as evangelicals move deeper into social activism, seeking to change the sinning ways of new arrivals and sailors. It is also a time when religious publishing booms as many pastors and religious groups disseminate spiritual tracts as a proselytism strategy to increasingly literate citizens. This highlights the interesting comfort that evangelicals have with modernity in this period, being willing to adapt to and adopt the new technologies at the time, often pushing them to new economic heights. The Panic of 1837 and long recovery shook the economic landscape of the city and issues a new era of urban evangelical Christianity that sees the limits of reform and social activism. Evangelicals turn inward and emphasize personal sanctification, with leaders such as Phoebe Worral Palmer creating the Ladies’ Home Missionary Society. Prof. Roberts finishes off with some of his thoughts regarding what he learned over the course of his studies, including how evangelicalism, and particularly the urban environment, is more complex than he had thought initially, and how the urban environment intersects in multiple ways with spiritual faith. He also leaves us on an optimistic note for the future noting how Protestants and Catholics found ways to mend their differences over time, which he looks forward to happening with the increased religious pluralism our nation is experiencing. Recorded: December 30, 2016.

Evangelical Gotham: Religion and the Making of New York City 1783-1860, by Kyle Roberts.

Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits, Women Religious, American Experience 1814-2014, edited by Kyle Roberts and Stephen Schloesser.

Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities.

Jesuit Libraries Project.

Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project.

Tony Carnes on Jesus’s Auto Body (and Soul) Shop & Blessed Pizza.

William Reimer on Religion and Violence in Toronto.

Maureen Fitzgerald on Irish Nuns and Welfare.

John Fea on the American Bible Society.

Timothy Neary on Race, Sports, and Catholics.

Jonathan den Hartog on Patriotism and Piety.

Leigh Eric Schmidt on Village Atheists.

Joshua Hall on Adam Smith, Religious Competition, and the Simpsons

tonygill — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 08:00:54 +0000

What did Adam Smith have to say on the effects of religious pluralism in nation? Dr. Joshua Hall, an associate professor of economics at West Virginia University and director of the Center for Free Enterprise, answers this question based upon a research project he conducted with Profs. Peter Boettke (George Mason) and Kathleen Sheehan (Creighton). In short, Prof. Hall and his colleagues argue that religious pluralism is correlated with less religious regulation and that there is reason to suspect that having religious competition promotes religious freedom. We begin with a discussion of Adam Smith’s insights about religious monopoly and religious competition contained within Book V of his classic The Wealth of Nations. (Our discussion also mentions Smith’s other major work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.) In that section of Wealth of Nations, Smith notes that a religious monopoly will get lazy and its clergy will “repose themselves on their benefices,” not to mention grow indolent. Upstart sects will challenge flaccid religious institutions and the monopoly clergy will try to get the magistrate (government) to crack down on the newcomers. In the event that the established church cannot convince the king to do this, there will be a growing degree of toleration amongst competing sects (although sometimes filled with conflict) and that this will be reflected in legislation that allows all (or most) religions to “live and let live.” Josh discusses how his team gathered data to test this assertion using measures from The Association of Religious Data Archives (ARDA). They found a very strong correlation between religious pluralism and religious freedom. Tony asks whether there is some causal endogeneity occurring here, and Josh does note that lower levels of regulation can promote higher levels of religious diversity. We have an interesting discussion on how different methodologies — quantitative and qualitative — complement one another in teasing out this relationship, and Tony shamelessly champions his own work. We finish the podcast with a tangential discussion on the economics of The Simpsons, as Prof. Hall recently edited a volume dedicated to that topic. We chat about why it is important to be innovative in teaching a potentially dry topic, and Josh shares a few insights from Homer Economics: The Economics of the Simpsons. Recorded: June 14, 2016.

“Was Adam Smith Right about Religious Competition?” by Peter Boettke, Joshua Hall, and Kathleen Sheehan.

Homer Economicus: The Economics of the Simpsons, edited by Joshua Hall.

The Political Origins of Religious Liberty, shamelessly plugged by its author Anthony Gill.

RELATED PODCASTS

Bob Subrick on Religion and Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, and Vernon Smith.

Kyle Swan on Christianity and (Classical) Liberalism.

Nathanael Snow on the Evangelical Coalition and Public Choice.

Russ Roberts & Tony Gill on Religion and Religious Liberty.

Larry Iannaccone on Sacrifice and Stigma.

Larry Witham on the Economics of Religion.

Jason Jewell on Why Christians Should Read the Great Books.

Chris Beneke on Religion, Markets, and the Founding Era.

Anthony Gill on the Political Origins of Religious Liberty (another shameless plug).

Aaron Saiger on Religion & Charter Schools (Encore Presentation)

tonygill — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 08:00:06 +0000

Is the charter school movement changing the way we think about religious education in the United States? Prof. Aaron Saiger of Fordham University Law School discusses this topic from a historical and legal framework, demonstrating how various religious communities have adapted to more market-oriented approaches to public education. We review changes in the educational landscape over the course of the 20th century and how various court cases affected how religion mixes (or doesn’t mix) with public school curriculum. Prof. Saiger then talks about the rise of charter schools in the 1990s and what distinct factors define such educational entities. The conversation moves to examine how religion can then be reconciled with these novel “hybrid” (public/private) schools, using examples from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic institutions. We finish by examining some recent court cases and how they may impact the future of charter schools. Recorded: March 28, 2014.

“Religious Consumers and Institutional Change in American Public Schooling: Cases from Jewish Education,” by Aaron Saiger in the Journal of Law, Religion, and State.

“Charter Schools, the Establishment Clause, and the Neoliberal Turn in Public Education,” by Aaron Saiger in the Cardozo Law Review.

The One Best System: A History of American Urban Education, by David Tyack (mentioned in podcast).

The Spirit of the Law: Religious Voices and the Constitution in Modern America, by Sarah Barringer Gordon (an additional resource suggested by Prof. Saiger).

RELATED PODCASTS

Kevin den Dulk on Religion, Education, and Civic Engagement.

Carmel Chiswick on the Economics of American Judaism.

Hunter Baker on the Future of Higher Education.

Joseph Castleberry on Religious-Based Higher Education.

Rick Walston on Distance Learning and Seminary Education.

William Wubbenhorst on Serve, West Dallas and FBO Evaluation

tonygill — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 09:00:03 +0000

How effective are faith-based community organizations and alleviating poverty, crime, health problems, and other social ills? William Wubbenhorst, co-founder of Social Capital Valuations LLC along with Andrew Gluck, talks about a unique collaborative effort to bring several faith-based organizations together in the community of West Dallas, Texas. He also discusses how his firm specializes in evaluating programs such as this one for their overall effectiveness and community impact.

Our conversation begins with a discussion of the West Dallas neighborhood and the various social problems it has faced over the decades. We then discuss the Serve, West Dallas program that consists of integrating the efforts of a variety of faith-based organizations that are sponsored by local and outlying suburban churches. William provides us with the history of this effort, tracing it back to Arrvel Wilson who grew up in the neighborhood, left it for his military service, but was called back by God to help improve the community. Mr. Wubbenhorst highlights a number of component parts to this program, including Service Optimizing Academic Reach (SOAR), Mercy Street Mentoring, Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT), and Brother Bill’s Helping Hand Clinic. He discusses some of the specific efforts undertaken by each of these individual organizations, including the importance of cupcakes (which immediately catches the attention of Tony).

We then spend some time talking about the collaborative efforts of Serve, which seeks to coordinate the activities of each of these organizations so that the causes and symptoms of poverty are addressed in a more holistic manner. We discuss the funding of the program and whether there have been any tensions between the different faith-based organizations in vying for financial resources and territory. Overall, William notes that the program has been successful in helping different organizations realize what other activities are going on in the community.

We then talk about William’s business and how he had a vision of providing evaluative services to faith-based organizations to help them determine whether the resources they were expending were working. He chronicles his education and idea for creating the company, and the methodological tool that they use — the Expected Value Return on Investment model. We discuss some of the methodological difficulties in measuring outcomes for many of these programs, including ones that have goals such as improving emotional and social learning. He notes that his company works with these organizations to determine their definition of success and attempts to build the best metrics possible.

The final portion of our interview is spent examining the success of the different component parts of Serve. The ACT program was the easiest to measure as crime statistics and property values were easily determined. They found that this program, which aims to clean up abandoned houses and remove drug dens, had a huge impact, returning $5.79 to the community for each dollar spent. Brother Bill’s Helping Hand Clinic, which is targeted and health education and preventive care as well as monitoring diabetes, also had a very favorable return at $6.64 to $1 ratio. We finish with William’s thoughts on the nature of this new collaborative model in the world of faith-based organizations and the importance of continual evaluation to see if resources are being used wisely. Recorded: February 11, 2015.

Community Transformation in West Dallas: Developing and Measuring Collective Impact Initiatives, by Byron Johnson, William Wubbenhorst, and Sung Joon Jang. (A downloadable copy of that report is available at that link.)

Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.

RELATED PODCASTS

Torrey Olsen on Faith-Based Humanitarianism and World Vision.

John Rees on International Development and Faith-Based Organizations.

Jay Hein on the Faith-Based and Community Initiative.

Byron Johnson on Religion & Delinquency.

Byron Johnson on More God, Less Crime.

Sung Joon Jang on the Boy Scouts of America.

David Wills on Religious Charity and Taxes.

Dan Hungerman on Religious Charity and Crowding Out.

John Rees on International Development and Faith-Based Organizations

tonygill — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 09:00:13 +0000

Following World War II, a number of countries came together to promote the reconstruction of Europe and, shortly thereafter, the economic development of the Third World by creating institutions such as the World Bank. What role have faith-based organizations (FBOs) played in this effort to alleviate poverty and promote social flourishing? Prof. John Rees of the University of Notre Dame, Australia discusses his personal work with FBOs and his scholarly research on the topic.

We begin with some background information about Prof. Rees. John notes that a trip to the United States to play basketball set him in motion down an interesting path wherein he worked for an international FBO — Tear Australia — and then to a Ph.D. in international politics where he sought to understand what role religion plays in international development efforts. As observed by other podcast guests, both John and Tony point out that religion was a rather neglected aspect of foreign policy for most of the post-WWII era, be it in terms of international security or economic development. While September 11 prompted more scholars to think about the role of religion in the realm of security studies, John sought to bring attention to the role that confessional groups played in grassroots development and how larger FBOs were seeking to partner with larger transnational institutions. We spend a bit of time discussing what the nature of “economic development” entails with John noting how religious individuals tend to provide a broader definition than merely the “GDP growth data” that more narrow economic analyses tend to zero in on. John notes that many religious leaders point out that “we don’t live in an economy, we live in a society” and that development institutions need to think about this.

For those not well versed in post-war economic development efforts, John lays out a brief history of “international financial institutions” (IFIs). While first starting with a focus on reconstructing Europe and avoiding further wars, attention of these IFIs soon shifted to the developing world as decolonization was presenting all sorts of new challenges. A number of the early efforts by these IFIs to give out block grants to governments, emphasize structural adjustment, and promote “good governance” were met with criticism and resistance by organizations within these developing nations, oftentimes by groups with a religious bent. John mentions the impact of liberation theology in Latin America as well as efforts of the Jubilee 2000 movement. These protests, beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1990s, made some folks aware in the international development communities that religious groups located at the grassroots possessed unique local knowledge and connections that could improve efforts to promote economic development and social flourishing. This realization, championed by the World Faiths Development Dialogue and folks like the World Bank’s president James Wolfensohn, opened the door to greater cooperation between FBOs and IFIs. John further points out that religiously-engaged folks who worked within these institutions also were promoting ideas for greater partnerships between the secular-oriented international institutions and religious charities.

Our conversation also covers various difficulties that are involved in developing partnerships between IFIs and FBOs. John provides a number of cautionary insights into this relationship by noting that religious actors and faith communities are often not the same thing. Moreover, there are differences in vision between large FBOs that are located in the “global North,” formal FBOs that are headquartered in the “global South,” and grassroots groups that are not plugged into extensive hierarchical development networks. He notes that FBOs in the North tend to absorb the definition and priorities of formal IFIs like the World Bank. This is, in part, a natural outgrowth of institutional actors preferring to work with those they know and understand, and the incentives created to conform to a set of standards when allocating development funds. Much of the early efforts to engage FBOs in international development were based upon pre-existing notions of development. Nonetheless, John’s research shows that there is a movement to engage less formal actors in civil society into partnerships. We spend time discussing the difficulties of engaging some organizations, such as Hezbollah, that do provide social services to local communities but also are engaged in violent conflict. John provides a handful of examples of where some of these grassroots efforts have been successful such as the Aga Khan Group and the Avina Foundation.

Our conversation concludes with John’s thoughts on the direction of international development efforts and the role that FBOs and grassroots groups have to play. He shares some pessimism and worries about whether religious groups might be co-opted by the efforts and definitions of the IFIs, losing some of their grassroots leverage and appeal. On the other hand, there is also a case to be made for optimism in this area as more groups enter the conversation and provide a patchwork of visions that help to check and balance top-down efforts to impose a certain definition of development. Recorded: December 16, 2014.

Religion in International Politics and Development: The World Bank and Faith Institutions, by John Rees.

Contemporary Challenges in Australian Security, by Daniel Baldino, Juliet Pietsch, David Lundberg, & John Rees

Tear Australia (an FBO mentioned in the podcast).

RELATED PODCASTS

Torrey Olsen on Faith-Based Humanitarianism and World Vision

David Smith on Religion, International Relations, and Foreign Policy

Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty & US Diplomacy

Religious Freedom & Economic Prosperity: A Panel Discussion

William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, & the Arab Spring

Aaron Saiger on Religion and Charter Schools

tonygill — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 08:00:45 +0000

Our conversation begins with a summary of what the K-12 educational landscape looked like circa the 1970s. This allows Prof. Saiger to lay out the historical origins of what he calls the “Progressive model” of public schooling that originated at the turn of the 20th century. This educational model was premised on the idea of “common schools,” meaning they were open and free to all, and that they shared a common curriculum designed to craft citizens. This model developed a design preference for top-down expertise to guide school curriculum. During the mid-1900s, a variety of court cases such as Engel v Vitale and Abington Township v Schempp injected secularism into this model, leading to the public school/private school dichotomous system that most folks like Tony and Aaron (who grew up in the 1970s) identify with today.

However, beginning in the 1990s, a movement to create charter schools arose to challenge this simple dichotomy. Aaron details what a charter school is, revealing that while they are funded publicly, the “grassroots” nature of their formation give them a “private school” feel. Educational entrepreneurs are able to craft a school around a particular curriculum or pedagogy within the limits of some basic regulatory requirements (e.g., students must learn math). Prof. Saiger notes that many of these charter schools develop niche markets specializing in topics such as maritime studies or horsemanship. Tony asks how charter schools relate to the school voucher movement that began taking shape a decade or so earlier, and while noting that partisans of vouchers and charters often claim to be very different in nature, Prof. Saiger points out that both movements share the mechanism of giving educational consumers greater choice and variety in how children are educated.

The ability of charter schools to create niche markets for specific educational consumers opens the door for schools with a more religious flavor to arise, challenging the notion of the secular public school. This is particularly true for communities of religious minorities who often live in close proximity to one another and can use the charter school option to develop a curriculum that they feel best suits their religious and cultural needs. To this effect, Prof. Saiger asks two important questions. First, can a charter school be genuinely (overtly) religious? And second, if the charter school is not overtly religious, how close can it come to that line and still serve the needs of a religious constituency?

We spend the second half of the podcast addressing those two questions. Aaron notes that no charter school has yet to be overtly religious, largely due to the reluctance of states to do this. Nonetheless, some religious communities have been able to create charter schools based on cultural and linguistic traditions, such as Hebrew language charter schools that use Jewish history and social science as a means of exposing students to Jewish religious traditions. These schools do not teach theology per se, but they provide an inexpensive alternative for religious individuals to have their children exposed to the culture and values of their choosing. There have been similar instances with Islamic (e.g., Arabic language schools) and Christian-flavored charter schools.

This discussion brings up two important Supreme Court cases that have influenced this movement: Zelman v Simmons-Harris, allowing for school vouchers in Cleveland, and Locke v Davey, which allowed states to restrict educational funding for students interested in earning theology degrees. Prof. Saiger notes that the ambiguity of the charter school system and interpretations from these two cases leaves the door open for the possible chartering of overtly religious schools and speculates on how this might affect our educational system in the future. He also discusses Justice Stephen Breyer’s dissenting opinion in the Zelman case that a system that allows for more parental choice in education could lead to religious strife in the future. Aaron provides a more optimistic view about the future than Justice Breyer. Recorded: March 28, 2014.

“Religious Consumers and Institutional Change in American Public Schooling: Cases from Jewish Education,” by Aaron Saiger in the Journal of Law, Religion, and State.

“Charter Schools, the Establishment Clause, and the Neoliberal Turn in Public Education,” by Aaron Saiger in the Cardozo Law Review.

The One Best System: A History of American Urban Education, by David Tyack (mentioned in podcast).

The Spirit of the Law: Religious Voices and the Constitution in Modern America, by Sarah Barringer Gordon (an additional resource suggested by Prof. Saiger).

RELATED PODCASTS

Kevin den Dulk on Religion, Education, and Civic Engagement.

Carmel Chiswick on the Economics of American Judaism.

Hunter Baker on the Future of Higher Education.

Joseph Castleberry on Religious-Based Higher Education.

Rick Walston on Distance Learning and Seminary Education.

Chris Gehrz on the Crisis of Christian Colleges.