Personality, Prosperity, Priority, Productivity, and Piety: Selecting Congregational Valued Lay Leaders

Religious congregations are community hubs of welfare and health services. They are known mostly for their spiritual and faith-based activities while being the largest providers of social care with the exception of social welfare services. Their leaders, the clergy, do not work alone. Members that work alongside clergy are essential for the congregation’s functioning but are under-researched, which limits our understanding of the inner workings of local religious congregations. In this exploratory study, we surveyed clergy to assess the characteristics possessed by their most trusted congregants—the valued members. This study helps to better understand the organizational behavior and an overall understanding of congregational members, who work most closely with clergy. We used an online survey of clergy across religious traditions within the United States (N=202), who provided personal data and described their valued members’ collective characteristics. Alongside our conceptual literature review, the findings identified five key groups: Personality, Prosperity, Priority, Productivity, and Piety. Overall, the valued members ranked highest were high on productivity and lowest on prosperity. We also found differences between clergy ranking based on their age, gender, and religion.

Author(s):  
Gregorio Bettiza

The conclusion has two main objectives. The first is to show how the International Religious Freedom, Faith-Based Foreign Aid, Muslim and Islamic Interventions, and Religious Engagement regimes form a broader American foreign policy regime complex on religion. The second objective is to reflect on the book’s wider implications for the study of religion in international relations and highlight areas for further research. This includes assessing the strength of the book’s theoretical framework in light of ongoing developments under the Trump administration; understanding better the changes occurring to the religious traditions and actors that America draws from and intervenes in around the world; investigating further how the American experience with the operationalization of religion in foreign policy relates and compares to similar policy changes taking place elsewhere; and reflecting more broadly on the implications for international order of the growing systematic attempt by the United States to manage and mobilize religion in twenty-first-century world politics.


2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Warren

Faith–based community organizing in the United States has emerged as one of the most effective ways to rebuild democratic life in urban communities. Scholars have argued that the success of modern community organizing lies in its ability to engage the social capital embedded in religious congregations. I examine this claim through a comparatively set case study of the effort to apply an American community organizing strategy in Britain. Using interviews, observations, and documentary sources, I analyze the experience of the British Citizens Organizing Foundation (COF), which is affiliated to the U.S.–based Industrial Areas Foundation. I find that the COF has attained more national influence than its American counterpart, but its local foundations remain much weaker. the relative weakness of faith–based social capital in Britain only partly explains this result. the orientations of religious institutions toward political engagement also matter, and so does the relative power of local versus national political institutions. I argue for bringing a more institutional approach to our theoretical understanding of community organizing and of the role of social capital in revitalizing democratic life more broadly.


Author(s):  
Kenny Hendrickson ◽  
Aletha Baumann ◽  
Robert H. Thompson

This chapter presents elements of a student-faculty collaborative research that quantitatively examined the predictive relationships of retail employees' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (PCSR) and organizational identification (POI) on their perceptions of ethical organizational behavior (PEOB). One hundred and eighteen retail employees from 20 companies in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) participated in an online survey. While no predictive relationship was found, the findings of this study identified significant relationships between retail employees PCSR, POI, and perceived ethical organizational behavior PEOB. The strongest association was discovered between PCSR and POI. Thus, this chapter spotlights a need for retail organizations to focus on the potential of employees' PSCR and POI in creating more authentic and responsible organizational environment.


Author(s):  
Ram A. Cnaan

Religions have traditionally called upon believers to be generous and assist others in need. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are a few examples of religions that stress this call. In the United States, the roots of the current religious system date back to the 17th century, when those who fled Europe to escape religious persecution established the first congregations. However, real faith-based social care developed only after independence and disestablishment. Today, faith-based social care is an essential part of the American welfare system, from the safety net provided by congregations to the sophisticated contracted services provided by the faith-based social services.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1666-1682
Author(s):  
Lena G. Caesar ◽  
Merertu Kitila

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding their academic preparation and current confidence levels for providing dysphagia services, and the relationship between their perceptions of graduate school preparation and their current levels of confidence. Method This study utilized an online survey to gather information from 374 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association–certified SLPs who currently provide dysphagia services in the United States. Surveys were primarily distributed through American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Special Interest Group forums and Facebook groups. The anonymous survey gathered information regarding SLPs' perceptions of academic preparation and current confidence levels for providing dysphagia services in 11 knowledge and skill areas. Results Findings indicated that more than half of respondents did not feel prepared following their graduate academic training in five of the 11 knowledge and skill areas related to dysphagia service delivery. However, about half of respondents indicated they were currently confident about their ability to provide services in eight of the 11 knowledge and skill areas. Findings also indicated that their current confidence levels to provide dysphagia services were significantly higher than their perceptions of preparation immediately following graduate school. However, no significant relationships were found between respondents' self-reported current confidence levels and their perceptions of the adequacy of their academic preparation. Conclusions Despite SLPs' low perceptions of the adequacy of their graduate preparation for providing dysphagia services in specific knowledge and skill areas immediately following graduation, they reported high confidence levels with respect to their actual service delivery. Implications of these findings are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 1172-1186
Author(s):  
Carolina Beita-Ell ◽  
Michael P. Boyle

Purpose The purposes of this study were to examine the self-efficacy of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in conducting multidimensional treatment with children who stutter (CWS) and to identify correlates of self-efficacy in treating speech-related, social, emotional, and cognitive domains of stuttering. Method Three hundred twenty randomly selected school-based SLPs across the United States responded to an online survey that contained self-efficacy scales related to speech, social, emotional, and cognitive components of stuttering. These ratings were analyzed in relation to participants' beliefs about stuttering treatment and their comfort level in treating CWS, perceived success in therapy, and empathy levels, in addition to their academic and clinical training in fluency disorders as well as demographic information. Results Overall, SLPs reported moderate levels of self-efficacy on each self-efficacy scale and on a measure of total self-efficacy. Significant positive associations were observed between SLPs' self-efficacy perceptions and their comfort level in treating CWS, self-reported success in treatment, beliefs about the importance of multidimensional treatment, and self-reported empathy. There were some discrepancies between what SLPs believed was important to address in stuttering therapy and how they measured success in therapy. Conclusions Among school-based SLPs, self-efficacy for treating school-age CWS with a multidimensional approach appears stronger than previously reported; however, more progress in training and experience is needed for SLPs to feel highly self-efficacious in these areas. Continuing to improve clinician self-efficacy for stuttering treatment through improved academic training and increased clinical experiences should remain a high priority in order to enhance outcomes for CWS. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12978194


Crisis ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin F. Ward-Ciesielski ◽  
Madeline D. Wielgus ◽  
Connor B. Jones

Background: Suicide-bereaved individuals represent an important group impacted by suicide. Understanding their experiences following the suicide of a loved one is an important research domain, despite receiving limited attention. Although suicide-bereaved individuals may benefit from mental health treatment, their attitudes toward therapy and therapists are poorly understood. Aims: The present study aimed to understand the extent to which bereaved individuals’ attitudes toward therapy and therapists are impacted by whether their loved one was in therapy at the time of death. Method: Suicide-bereaved individuals (N = 243) from the United States were recruited to complete an online survey about their experience with and attitudes toward therapy and therapists following the suicide of a loved one. Results: Bereaved individuals whose loved one was in therapy at the time of death (N = 48, 19.8%) reported more negative and less positive attitudes toward the treating therapist than those whose loved one was not in therapy at the time of death (N = 81, 33.3%) or whose loved one was never in therapy/the deceased’s therapy status was unknown (N = 114, 46.9%). Conclusion: The deceased’s involvement with a therapist appears to be an important factor impacting the experience of bereaved individuals and should be considered when attempting to engage these individuals in postvention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq ◽  
Muhammad Riaz Mahmood

The problématique of governing diversity has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention but literature has largely overlooked the challenges appertaining to growing religious diversity in many places. The contemporary power sharing models and multicultural policies which are of a secular nature fall short of the expectations to foster peaceful coexistence in multi-religious societies. The primary concern of this paper is to manifest how religion can help us to lessen faith based violence. It is argued that religious traditions may offer valuable insights to design more inclusive governance. In this backdrop, the current paper evaluates the Islamic values of religious accommodation to gauge how helpful they are for designing inclusive policies in religiously diverse societies. The analysis illustrates that Islamic doctrine contemplates the politics of accommodation and forbearance. The pluralistic approach of Islam offered religious autonomy to non-Muslims in the state of Madinah. The ‘millet system’ established by the Ottoman Empire is widely admired for granting non-territorial autonomy in the matters related to religion, culture, and personal laws to non-Muslims. This display of an Islamic pluralistic approach at different junctures of Muslim history attests the capacity of the Islamic values of accommodation to nurture peaceful coexistence in modern societies. However, it requires a more unbiased and rigorous analysis to convince the global audience in this regard.


Author(s):  
Sara Roy

Many in the United States and Israel believe that Hamas is nothing but a terrorist organization, and that its social sector serves merely to recruit new supporters for its violent agenda. Based on extensive fieldwork in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the critical period of the Oslo peace process, this book shows how the social service activities sponsored by the Islamist group emphasized not political violence but rather community development and civic restoration. The book demonstrates how Islamic social institutions in Gaza and the West Bank advocated a moderate approach to change that valued order and stability, not disorder and instability; were less dogmatically Islamic than is often assumed; and served people who had a range of political outlooks and no history of acting collectively in support of radical Islam. These institutions attempted to create civic communities, not religious congregations. They reflected a deep commitment to stimulate a social, cultural, and moral renewal of the Muslim community, one couched not only—or even primarily—in religious terms. Vividly illustrating Hamas's unrecognized potential for moderation, accommodation, and change, the book also traces critical developments in Hamas' social and political sectors through the Second Intifada to today, and offers an assessment of the current, more adverse situation in the occupied territories. The Oslo period held great promise that has since been squandered. This book argues for more enlightened policies by the United States and Israel, ones that reflect Hamas' proven record of nonviolent community building. A new afterword discusses how Hamas has been affected by changing regional dynamics and by recent economic and political events in Gaza, including failed attempts at reconciliation with Fatah.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katti J. Sneed ◽  
Debbie Teike

This article presents a description of Art of Invitation as a complementary approach to traditional addiction treatment through the alignment of Art of Invitation (AOI) with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Ten Guiding Principles for Recovery.  AOI is a faith based relationship building approach that combines key Judeo/Christian teachings with relationship building tools, skills, and concepts for those seeking to build and restore relationships.  SAMHSA, as the leading agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, spearheads public health efforts to advance behavioral health within the United States.  Each Guiding Principle is presented along with a description of how AOI is shared with incarcerated women, an often neglected population, participating in an inpatient treatment program housed in a community corrections facility.


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