This study examined the perceptions and behaviors of clergy and faith-based social service practitioners within the African-American faith community, in relationship to HIV/AIDS education and prevention. This study employed a descriptive exploratory design, utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the secured data. The independent variables were clergy and faith-based social service practitioners. The three dependent variables were identified as perceptions (composed of health beliefs, attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control), intended behavior and actual behavior regarding HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Findings revealed a lack of significant difference in the perceptions of clergy and church workers regarding HIV/ AIDS education and prevention. However, there was a statistically significant difference in their intended and actual behaviors to provide HIV/AIDS information to various age groups in the church community.

The Methodist Mission Northern has provided social services to the community since 1851. The underpinning philosophy of Methodist Mission Northern’s service provision is that of being a Good Neighbour. The concept of Good Neighbour derives from the Old and the New Testaments of the Holy Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures and also public policy. A defining moment in the emergence of Christian universalism comes when the neighbour is asserted to include everyone, … while the Levite and the Cohen pass by the injured man… the Good Samaritan comes to his aid and proves himself the true neighbour of his (injured) neighbour [Zizek, Santner, & Reinhard, 2005, p. 6]. What does Good Neighbour entail in the context of so many people suffering owing to poverty, injustice and social exclusion? This study set out to examine how the concept of Good Neighbour has been put into practice and how that is relevant in contemporary public policy setting. This research was undertaken using phenomenological enquiry approach which explored the experiences of the key stakeholders namely the Board of Governors, the staff and the clients or service recipients of the Methodist Mission Northern to understand the impact of service delivery on clients. This was done through a review of the Minutes of the Board Meetings and Annual Reports over a twenty year period from 1986 to 2006. The study found that for the greater part of the history the operation of the concept of Good Neighbour by Methodist Mission Northern tended to focus on the charity model which provides for the day to day needs of the clients such as providing food, clothing and shelter and other immediate needs. For Methodist Mission Northern’s concept of Good Neighbour to reflect its underpinning philosophy more effectively the practice needs to move beyond the charity model into a community development model focussed on social change and transformation. This means meeting the needs of clients in ways that empower them to move towards independence and interdependent self sustainability.

The Methodist Mission Northern has provided social services to the community since 1851. The underpinning philosophy of Methodist Mission Northern’s service provision is that of being a Good Neighbour. The concept of Good Neighbour derives from the Old and the New Testaments of the Holy Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures and also public policy. A defining moment in the emergence of Christian universalism comes when the neighbour is asserted to include everyone, … while the Levite and the Cohen pass by the injured man… the Good Samaritan comes to his aid and proves himself the true neighbour of his (injured) neighbour [Zizek, Santner, & Reinhard, 2005, p. 6]. What does Good Neighbour entail in the context of so many people suffering owing to poverty, injustice and social exclusion? This study set out to examine how the concept of Good Neighbour has been put into practice and how that is relevant in contemporary public policy setting. This research was undertaken using phenomenological enquiry approach which explored the experiences of the key stakeholders namely the Board of Governors, the staff and the clients or service recipients of the Methodist Mission Northern to understand the impact of service delivery on clients. This was done through a review of the Minutes of the Board Meetings and Annual Reports over a twenty year period from 1986 to 2006. The study found that for the greater part of the history the operation of the concept of Good Neighbour by Methodist Mission Northern tended to focus on the charity model which provides for the day to day needs of the clients such as providing food, clothing and shelter and other immediate needs. For Methodist Mission Northern’s concept of Good Neighbour to reflect its underpinning philosophy more effectively the practice needs to move beyond the charity model into a community development model focussed on social change and transformation. This means meeting the needs of clients in ways that empower them to move towards independence and interdependent self sustainability.

"If the [White House faith-based] initiative was going to have an impact on the local community, you had to begin to think of the initiative in local terms." – Brad Yarbrough, Director of the Oklahoma Office of Faith and Community Initiatives Charitable Choice and other faith-based initiatives attempt to provide faith-based organizations (FBOs) easier access to public funds for social service delivery in the community. Five years after Charitable Choice was included in the federal welfare reforms of 1996, President George W. Bush introduced the White House Office of Faith-Based & Community Initiatives in order to expand partnership opportunities between federal agencies and FBOs. The Bush administration actively recruited religious groups to apply for public dollars that would fund local social programs. The actions in Washington mirrored similar movements that took place in many states during the mid to late 1990s. Since then, so-called "faith-based social services" have received their share of media attention and public scrutiny. Much of the attention has been on political-philosophical debates and the legal challenges to church-state separation. Research by Bartkowski and Regis (1999), Kennedy and Bielefeld (2001), Gomez (2003), Vanderwoerd (2004) and Sager (2006) depict the efforts of individual states to implement Charitable Choice policies and the attitudes of FBOs towards partnerships with government. However, there has been inadequate research on the experience of local governments who engage faith-based providers on a daily basis. Much more can be learned about the themes that shape current collaborations between local social service agencies and the faith community in Virginia. Using a collective case study design, this research captures the experiences and perspectives of local public managers who have formed partnerships with FBOs mostly through non-financial means. The data shows that federal and state faith-based initiatives have little influence on the way local social service agencies in Virginia conduct their work. The typical partnerships with FBOs are the result of pre-existing, informal and non-financial relationships that have been fostered and sustained long before welfare reform or without the impetus of any faith-based initiatives. / Ph. D.

Syftet med denna studie är att öka kunskapen om diakoners arbete med papperslösa. I Sverige finns det 10 000-tals papperslösa som befinner sig här efter att undanhållit sig utvisningsbeslut, smugglats in som traffickingoffer eller strävar efter att arbeta ihop inkomster att skicka till hemlandet. Med en kvalitativ ansats har jag intervjuat sex stycken diakoner som arbetar i Svenska kyrkan i Stockholm, och som alla möter och erbjuder socialt stöd till papperslösa. Resultatet har jag analyserat utifrån teori om ekologiskt perspektiv på socialt arbete med flyktingar och migranter, samt teorier om värdegrunder i socialt arbete. Resultatet visar att diakonerna fokuserar på det sociala arbetet på mikronivå, men att viss samverkan på mesonivå förekommer. Dock förekommer inte särskilt mycket samverkan med andra diakoner som möter papperslösa. De diakoner som samverkar minst uttrycker en ensamhet rörande sitt arbete. Diakonerna ställs inför etiska överväganden rörande resursfördelning och då prioriteras papperslösa overstayers framför de som befinner sig i Sverige för att arbeta. Resultatet visar även att diakonerna upplever en maktlöshet rörande sitt arbete och gör etiska överväganden huruvida det är värt att bistå människor som lever papperslösa, trots att det i vissa fall verkar bättre att återvända. Denna maktlöshet kan kopplas till de juridiska kunskaper diakonerna besitter eller saknar, då den diakon som har störst juridisk kunskap även är den som uttrycker mest hopp. Med ökad samverkan mellan diakoner som arbetar med gruppen, och med ökande juridiska kunskaper gällande lagstiftningen verkar både känslan av ensamhet och maktlöshet att minska.   Nyckelord: Papperslösa, diakon, Svenska kyrkan, trosbaserat socialt arbete, flyktingar, migration   Keywords: Undocumented Migrants, Irregular Migrants, Deacon, Church of Sweden, Faith-based Social Work, Refugees, Migration

Nosso objetivo com esta pesquisa é analisar a representação social da relação fé e política entre os militantes cristãos, centrando a análise na Escola Fé e Política Pe. Humberto Plummen, do Regional Nordeste 2 (CNBB Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil). Nela identificamos os elementos fundamentais, as formas representacionais, buscando perceber como esses elementos interferem na militância de libertação dos cursistas e congregados. A perspectiva que perpassa este trabalho se fundamenta na teoria da Representação Social, da qual os conceitos de objetivação e ancoragem são destacados, e em outros elementos do campo da ciência da religião e da sociologia da religião. Acreditamos que tais perspectivas sustentem a análise do imaginário social sobre a relação fé e política presente na referida escola, o qual se revela nas entrevistas feitas com cursistas e coordenadores. Assim, é possível verificar se a representação social da fé é um elemento constitutivo de sua ação política, como também averiguar se a representação social da política é um elemento constitutivo da sua expressão da fé. E, ainda, se essa relação sustenta um traço de identidade que compõe o éthos presente na referida instituição / Our aim with this research is analyzing the social representation of the relation of faith and politics among the Christian militants, focusing the analysis at Priest Humberto Plummen Faith and Politics school of Regional Northeast 2 (CNBB National Conference of Bishops of Brazil). We identify the fundamental elements, the representation forms, searching realize how these elements interfere in the militancy of the liberation of attendants and congregated. The perspective that shows this work is based on the theory of the Social Representation, which concepts of objectivity and anchorage are highlighted and in other elements of field of the Science of Religion and the Sociology of Religion. We believe that such perspective supports the analysis of the social imaginary about the relation faith and politics present in the referring school, what reveals in the interviews made with students and coordinators. Thus, it is possible to verify if the social representation of faith is a constitutive element of its politic actions, as also check if the social representation of politics is a constitutive element of its expression of faith. And still if this relation supports a trace of identity that composes the ethos presents in the referring institution

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:12:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_lucia_silva.pdf: 1723181 bytes, checksum: 56c323ebd07f284180fff8b36ebb6dda (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-01 / Our aim with this research is analyzing the social representation of the relation of faith and politics among the Christian militants, focusing the analysis at Priest Humberto Plummen Faith and Politics school of Regional Northeast 2 (CNBB National Conference of Bishops of Brazil). We identify the fundamental elements, the representation forms, searching realize how these elements interfere in the militancy of the liberation of attendants and congregated. The perspective that shows this work is based on the theory of the Social Representation, which concepts of objectivity and anchorage are highlighted and in other elements of field of the Science of Religion and the Sociology of Religion. We believe that such perspective supports the analysis of the social imaginary about the relation faith and politics present in the referring school, what reveals in the interviews made with students and coordinators. Thus, it is possible to verify if the social representation of faith is a constitutive element of its politic actions, as also check if the social representation of politics is a constitutive element of its expression of faith. And still if this relation supports a trace of identity that composes the ethos presents in the referring institution / Nosso objetivo com esta pesquisa é analisar a representação social da relação fé e política entre os militantes cristãos, centrando a análise na Escola Fé e Política Pe. Humberto Plummen, do Regional Nordeste 2 (CNBB Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil). Nela identificamos os elementos fundamentais, as formas representacionais, buscando perceber como esses elementos interferem na militância de libertação dos cursistas e congregados. A perspectiva que perpassa este trabalho se fundamenta na teoria da Representação Social, da qual os conceitos de objetivação e ancoragem são destacados, e em outros elementos do campo da ciência da religião e da sociologia da religião. Acreditamos que tais perspectivas sustentem a análise do imaginário social sobre a relação fé e política presente na referida escola, o qual se revela nas entrevistas feitas com cursistas e coordenadores. Assim, é possível verificar se a representação social da fé é um elemento constitutivo de sua ação política, como também averiguar se a representação social da política é um elemento constitutivo da sua expressão da fé. E, ainda, se essa relação sustenta um traço de identidade que compõe o éthos presente na referida instituição