Bush’s faith-based push increased churches’ interest

DURHAM, N.C. — Churches’ activity in social welfare was “business as usual” during the eight years of President George W. Bush’s faith-based agenda, but congregational interest in the initiative definitely went up, according to a scholar at Duke Divinity School.

The agenda, aimed at increasing religion’s role in providing social services, had little impact on day-to-day ministries of local congregations, according to Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology and religion who directs the National Congregations Study.

Chaves said the proportions of congregations that provide social services (82 percent of all houses of worship), that have a staff member who devotes at least a quarter of their time to providing social services (11 percent) and that receive government funding for such services (4 percent) did not change between data collected in 1998 and in 2006–2007. Easier availability of government funding for faith-based groups, introduced as part of welfare reform during the Clinton administration but elevated to a centerpiece of Bush’s domestic agenda, did increase congregational interest in social services, however. Nearly half (47 percent) of surveyed congregations said in 2006 they would like to apply for government funding, compared to 39 percent who said so in 1998.