From God to good? Faith-based institutions in the secular society

THE DEBATE ABOUT the extent to which faith-based schooling prepares children for life in contemporary society has recently been reopened in the UK. This paper explores the issue and examines what children in Christian schools should learn about the liberal, plural and secularised society in which they live. It also considers, from a biblical perspective, why they should engage in such learning. What young people should understand and appreciate about sexual ethics, the place of rational autonomy as an educational aim, and the relation between faith and learning will be evaluated.

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Taming Prophetic Religion? Faith-Based Activism and Welfare Provision

International Journal of Public Theology ◽

10.1163/156973209x387325 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 78-95

Author(s):

Richard Wood

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Social Service ◽

Community Organizing ◽

Service Provision ◽

The United States ◽

Current Debate ◽

Faith Based ◽

The Us ◽

Faith Based Institutions ◽

Prophetic Religion

AbstractThis article examines the current debate in the United States (primarily) and Britain regarding government-funded social service provision via faith-based institutions. By highlighting the tension between the 'priestly' and 'prophetic' roles of public religion, it argues for the critical importance of protecting religion's prophetic role even as society moves toward more extensive public financing of priestly social service provision. The article first outlines contemporary prophetic religion in the United States, especially faith-based community organizing (also known as broad-based community organizing) efforts, emphasizing three facets of the field: its scale, its role in building social capital, the issues it has addressed. Secondly, the article argues that, despite the narrow partisan tenor of recent faith-based social service provision in the US, it may have redeeming features that new leaders will want to preserve. However, H. R. Niebuhr's (1951) analysis of the relationship between religion and culture is invoked to characterize four key tensions between priestly and prophetic religion that may be exacerbated by governmental funding. The conclusion outlines several approaches through which practitioners, policymakers, the press, and scholars can help society maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of such funding.

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Holistic Transformative Development Amid Global Pandemic - Singapore’s Journey

International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Strategic Studies ◽

10.47548/ijistra.2021.37 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 168-177

Author(s):

Fazrihan Duriat ◽

Bibi Jan Md Ayyub ◽

Murtadha Mustafa

Keyword(s):

Task Force ◽

Social Changes ◽

Damage Scenario ◽

Faith Based ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Transformative Development ◽

Multiple Challenges ◽

The Government ◽

Faith Based Institutions ◽

Nations Development

COVID-19 is a global pandemic (Jaihah) that brings hardships (Haraj). This has affected all aspects of our life. The United Nations Development Programme reported that uncertainties due to this global pandemic are manifold. Under a 'High Damage’ scenario, the world could see a staggering 251 million people driven into extreme poverty by the pandemic, bringing the total number to one billion by 2030. The Singapore government had made swift and comprehensive response by forming multi-ministry task force and galvanise various organisations, at all levels, including faith-based institutions to manage and address the multiple challenges in hands. This paper highlights the 3Rs approach adopted by the government through their policies, measures, and actions on various aspects of sustainability including climate and social changes and how the rest of the stakeholders come together for greater impact, with specific focus on the response from the Muslim community.

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Application of Faith and Learning

Metropolitan Universities ◽

10.18060/23986 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 163-180

Author(s):

Theresa Harrison ◽

Dottie Weigel ◽

Melinda Smith

Keyword(s):

Capital City ◽

Faith Formation ◽

Case Study Methodology ◽

The Public ◽

Faith Based ◽

Study Methodology ◽

Faith And Learning ◽

Faith Based Institutions ◽

Competing Priorities ◽

The Impact

Higher education institutions face many competing priorities and are still expected to serve the public good. Faith-based institutions, in particular, aim to meet a faith-inspired calling and serve the communities in which they are situated while guiding students in their faith formation by integrating service and academic priorities. In this paper, the authors explore, through a case study methodology, the unique positionality of Messiah University, a faith-based university located near the capital city of Harrisburg, PA. Specifically, this study explores the impact of a community engaged course with an urban nonprofit agency.

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Secularity and Transformation of the Faith-Based Community: Ethnography of the Religious Charity of Baha’i in Macau

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel11120652 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 652

Author(s):

Yanchun Jing ◽

Jiangang Zhu ◽

Yongjing Han

Keyword(s):

Mainland China ◽

Religious Practice ◽

Cultural Citizenship ◽

Exploratory Research ◽

World Religion ◽

Religious Philosophy ◽

Faith Based ◽

New Religions ◽

Secular Society ◽

The 19Th Century

Since the 1970s, religious charities in Chinese communities have gradually become public and rational, transforming from previously raising donations for the temples or disaster relief. Even in mainland China, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam all began to enter the secular society after the 1980s and gradually merged into local public life by providing public welfare. Little attention has been paid to Baha’i, which originated in Iran in the middle of the 19th century and has become one of the most rapidly expanding new religions in the world. Based upon the ethnography of a Baha’i group in Macau, we first introduce the development of Baha’i, its activities and its charity services. In considering this example, we engage with the following questions. As a new world religion, why would Baha’i carry out these charity events? How did it begin its charity activities in Macau? How do charity activities convey its religious philosophy and religious practice? How should we interpret these religious charity practices? This exploratory research on a religious group in Macau revealed that the modern religion derives publicity and rationalization from its strong driving force for secularization, that the believers are also increasingly emphasizing their social and cultural citizenship, and that the religious organization is also gradually transforming into a networked faith-based community.

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