Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the global age, grass-roots religious organizations seek to better collaborate
across national and cultural borders. Through the theoretical lens of mutuality, this
dissertation explores the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships inherent in
faith-based, philanthropic partnerships between the United States and Cuba.
Mutuality is a framework for understanding human relationships; it describes
when people regard one another as whole persons and a relationship as something of
inherent value. This study explores the value of relationships, the processes by which
they form, how they relate to institutional structures, and the role of a common faith in
bridging other cultural differences.
Religious communities are considered the primary civil society institutions with
national reach in Cuba. The research site for this study is a Protestant civil society
organization on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba called Campo Amor. Campo Amor
operates both nonprofit and for-profit activities and receives substantial American
donations through a foundation in Spain.
Over the past 20 years, Campo Amor has multiplied from two to more than 120
house churches. Before COVID-19 it welcomed more than 500 American partners each
year. Using a co-created, phenomenological qualitative design, this study will provide
knowledge into the role of relationships in philanthropic, faith-based partnerships, particularly between regions of geopolitical hostilities. It advances understanding of the
role of religion and relationships in philanthropy across a variety of cultural differences.
Among other findings, interviewees described mutuality as 1. the commitment to
sharing; 2. Intersubjective relationships which enter into and care about the thoughts and
feelings of another; and 3. the habitual approach that emphasized living one’s way into
patterns of thought, versus thinking one’s way into patterns of life.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/27143 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Goodwin, Jamie L. |
| Contributors | King, David, Herzog, Patricia Snell, Wiepking, Pamala, Kahn, Hilary, Konrath, Sara |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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