SOCIAL WORK: EXAM
#2 STUDY GUIDE
Chapter 8: The Religious Roots of Social Welfare - CORRECT ANSWER -1. The Religious
Roots of Social Welfare
The desire to help someone is not, as far as we know, instinctive. The very desire to help
others, and, therefore, the beginning of social welfare, seems to have developed as a part of
religion. Almost all religions have obligated their followers to engage in acts of charity,
sometimes only to members of their sect and sometimes to anyone in need.5 All major
religions have, to some extent, stressed responsibility for one's fellows, kindness or justice to
the needy, and self-fulfillment through service.
2. Early Egyptian Roots
Egyptian civilization is the oldest culture to have left a substantial written record. It is,
therefore, used here to illustrate the early development of religious injunctions regarding
social welfare. Morris points out that a similar evolution was taking place in Assyrian,
Mesopotamian, and Chinese societies.6 The early Egyptian holy book, called the Book of the
Dead, was a group of writings collected around 3500 bc. In the book is a list of seven acts of
mercy, including relief of hunger, thirst, and nakedness; care of prisoners; help for the
stranger; and care for the sick and the dead.7 The book also contains an early version of
what we now call the Golden Rule, "Do to the doer in order to cause him to do [for thee]."8
The Book of the Dead contains mainly negative injunctions; that is, it focuses more on not
doing harm than on actively doing good. It suggests behaviors that should be avoided
because such avoidance will ensure a good life after death. Writings buried with the dead for
the apparent purpose of providing evidence that the person had lived a correct life contain
statements such as "I have not done violence to a poor man," "I have not made anyone sick
or weak," and "I have not taken milk from the mouths of children." There is also some
eviden
Chapter 8: The Religious Roots of Organized Social Work - CORRECT ANSWER -1. The
Religious Roots of Organized Social Work
The philosophical basis for social welfare is largely found in religious teachings, so it is not
surprising that the earliest forms of organized social work all had religious progenitors. Even
before the rise of modern European states, the church was providing social services of a
primitive sort. The earliest organized social welfare activity of the Christian church was the
,formation of burial societies, followed closely by provision of alms to the poor, shelter for
the homeless, and care and comfort for the sick; monasteries often served as all-purpose
social service agencies, acting as hospitals, homes for the aged, orphanages, and travelers'
aid stations.24 As discussed in Chapter 3, however, it was not until the onset of
industrialization and urbanization, when the informal helping systems of the church and
family began to break down, that organized social welfare services began to emerge. The
natural first step was for the church to begin to formalize what it had previously done on an
informal basis.
The profession of social work is generally considered to have emerged from three general
movements: the charity organization society (COS) movement, the settlement house
movement, and a third, less clearly defined movement, the development of institutions to
deal with an entire range of social problems. All these had their period of most rapid growth
during the 19th century, and all grew out of the church.
2. Churches and the Charity Organization Society Movement
The earliest development of the COS has been traced to Thomas Chalmers, a minister of the
Church of Scotland. Chalmers was called to Glasgow in 1814 to be the minister of one of its
most important churches. Appalled by the poverty he witnessed in the parish of St. John's,
and detesting the Poor Law, he set out t
Chapter 8: Should the Church Be Involved in Social Work and Social Welfare? - CORRECT
ANSWER -1. Should the Church Be Involved in Social Work and Social Welfare?
There are those both in the church and in the social work profession who do not feel that
the church should be involved in social welfare. From the perspective of the church, this is
an issue that assumed more importance in the past than it does now. The major argument is
that the church should be concerned with saving souls, not with redeeming society. The
colorful 19th-century evangelist Billy Sunday is quoted by Marty as having said, "The road to
the kingdom of God is not by the bathtub or the gymnasium [two common services provided
by social welfare agencies of the time], nor the university, but by the blood red hand of the
cross of Christ." Sunday criticized Christian social welfare agencies of the time, such as the
YMCA, because "they have taken up sociology and settlement work but are not winning
souls to Christ." He was overheard by a reporter to say, "We've had enough of this godless
social service nonsense. I'll go with you in eugenics, in social service, oyster soup, and
institutional churches, but when you leave Jesus Christ out of it, good night."57 Very few
people in the church are concerned with this today, but it does still occasionally pop up. For
example, an essay in Evangelical Missions Quarterly suggested that social service directed
toward community development "probably is the greatest foe of Christianity." Sanzanbach
speculates that "it is probable that a fundamentalist review of leading social work textbooks,
journals, or proceedings of national conferences and meetings would conclude that, despite
, the profession's good intentions, social work is hopelessly infused with the atheistic
doctrines of secular humanism."58 Pellebon found empirical support for this hypothesis
when he surveyed the members of conservative, nondenominatio
Chapter 8: Conclusion - CORRECT ANSWER -Conclusion
Religion and social work have a long and closely intertwined history. They are natural allies
and collaborators, both being concerned with the well-being of people, justice, and
problems of the oppressed, as well as many other mutual interests. But as social work has
become more secularized and more tolerant of "atypical" behavior, and as conservative
religion has become a more powerful force in society, and more closely aligned with
conservative politics, the potential for problems between these old allies has increased.
How great have these problems actually proved to be? Because it has been only in the past
few years that many people have even perceived the potential for conflict, we really do not
have much data on which to base a firm conclusion. However, the data that are beginning to
come in indicate that the relationship between religion and social work is not presenting as
great a problem as feared. A study by Eckardt compared the practice of graduates of the
social work program at Temple University, who identified themselves as secular in
orientation, with graduates of the social work program at the Philadelphia College of the
Bible, who identified themselves as evangelical Christians. Eckardt concluded that:
The overwhelming difference in religious beliefs was matched by an equally overwhelming
similarity in practice. There was not always a positive affirmation of the values of the
profession through the practice decisions, but the nature of the responses was similar. A
generalization which can be made from this study is that although the groups tested were
diverse in religious beliefs, they were similar in professional practice.90
A similar finding was reported by Epstein and Buckner, who surveyed practicing social
workers in Georgia, in the heart of the Bible Belt. Of the 214 social workers surve
Chapter 10: The Nature and Causes of Poverty - CORRECT ANSWER -1. Who Are the Poor?
In this section we present a statistical picture of the population in the United States who live
below the poverty line. Two types of pictures are presented. The first is the traditional
means of describing this population based on statistical data gathered mainly by the Census
Bureau as part of its series of Current Population Reports. This is the source of most of the
figures you see on the evening news and that are referred to in statements by lawmakers
and interest groups. This type of information has been referred to as cross-section or
snapshot data: It provides a series of statistical pictures at certain points in time, but it does
not tell us much beyond a general description of the situation at that time. Poverty statistics
show, for example, that the level of poverty in this country is fairly stable, running between
#2 STUDY GUIDE
Chapter 8: The Religious Roots of Social Welfare - CORRECT ANSWER -1. The Religious
Roots of Social Welfare
The desire to help someone is not, as far as we know, instinctive. The very desire to help
others, and, therefore, the beginning of social welfare, seems to have developed as a part of
religion. Almost all religions have obligated their followers to engage in acts of charity,
sometimes only to members of their sect and sometimes to anyone in need.5 All major
religions have, to some extent, stressed responsibility for one's fellows, kindness or justice to
the needy, and self-fulfillment through service.
2. Early Egyptian Roots
Egyptian civilization is the oldest culture to have left a substantial written record. It is,
therefore, used here to illustrate the early development of religious injunctions regarding
social welfare. Morris points out that a similar evolution was taking place in Assyrian,
Mesopotamian, and Chinese societies.6 The early Egyptian holy book, called the Book of the
Dead, was a group of writings collected around 3500 bc. In the book is a list of seven acts of
mercy, including relief of hunger, thirst, and nakedness; care of prisoners; help for the
stranger; and care for the sick and the dead.7 The book also contains an early version of
what we now call the Golden Rule, "Do to the doer in order to cause him to do [for thee]."8
The Book of the Dead contains mainly negative injunctions; that is, it focuses more on not
doing harm than on actively doing good. It suggests behaviors that should be avoided
because such avoidance will ensure a good life after death. Writings buried with the dead for
the apparent purpose of providing evidence that the person had lived a correct life contain
statements such as "I have not done violence to a poor man," "I have not made anyone sick
or weak," and "I have not taken milk from the mouths of children." There is also some
eviden
Chapter 8: The Religious Roots of Organized Social Work - CORRECT ANSWER -1. The
Religious Roots of Organized Social Work
The philosophical basis for social welfare is largely found in religious teachings, so it is not
surprising that the earliest forms of organized social work all had religious progenitors. Even
before the rise of modern European states, the church was providing social services of a
primitive sort. The earliest organized social welfare activity of the Christian church was the
,formation of burial societies, followed closely by provision of alms to the poor, shelter for
the homeless, and care and comfort for the sick; monasteries often served as all-purpose
social service agencies, acting as hospitals, homes for the aged, orphanages, and travelers'
aid stations.24 As discussed in Chapter 3, however, it was not until the onset of
industrialization and urbanization, when the informal helping systems of the church and
family began to break down, that organized social welfare services began to emerge. The
natural first step was for the church to begin to formalize what it had previously done on an
informal basis.
The profession of social work is generally considered to have emerged from three general
movements: the charity organization society (COS) movement, the settlement house
movement, and a third, less clearly defined movement, the development of institutions to
deal with an entire range of social problems. All these had their period of most rapid growth
during the 19th century, and all grew out of the church.
2. Churches and the Charity Organization Society Movement
The earliest development of the COS has been traced to Thomas Chalmers, a minister of the
Church of Scotland. Chalmers was called to Glasgow in 1814 to be the minister of one of its
most important churches. Appalled by the poverty he witnessed in the parish of St. John's,
and detesting the Poor Law, he set out t
Chapter 8: Should the Church Be Involved in Social Work and Social Welfare? - CORRECT
ANSWER -1. Should the Church Be Involved in Social Work and Social Welfare?
There are those both in the church and in the social work profession who do not feel that
the church should be involved in social welfare. From the perspective of the church, this is
an issue that assumed more importance in the past than it does now. The major argument is
that the church should be concerned with saving souls, not with redeeming society. The
colorful 19th-century evangelist Billy Sunday is quoted by Marty as having said, "The road to
the kingdom of God is not by the bathtub or the gymnasium [two common services provided
by social welfare agencies of the time], nor the university, but by the blood red hand of the
cross of Christ." Sunday criticized Christian social welfare agencies of the time, such as the
YMCA, because "they have taken up sociology and settlement work but are not winning
souls to Christ." He was overheard by a reporter to say, "We've had enough of this godless
social service nonsense. I'll go with you in eugenics, in social service, oyster soup, and
institutional churches, but when you leave Jesus Christ out of it, good night."57 Very few
people in the church are concerned with this today, but it does still occasionally pop up. For
example, an essay in Evangelical Missions Quarterly suggested that social service directed
toward community development "probably is the greatest foe of Christianity." Sanzanbach
speculates that "it is probable that a fundamentalist review of leading social work textbooks,
journals, or proceedings of national conferences and meetings would conclude that, despite
, the profession's good intentions, social work is hopelessly infused with the atheistic
doctrines of secular humanism."58 Pellebon found empirical support for this hypothesis
when he surveyed the members of conservative, nondenominatio
Chapter 8: Conclusion - CORRECT ANSWER -Conclusion
Religion and social work have a long and closely intertwined history. They are natural allies
and collaborators, both being concerned with the well-being of people, justice, and
problems of the oppressed, as well as many other mutual interests. But as social work has
become more secularized and more tolerant of "atypical" behavior, and as conservative
religion has become a more powerful force in society, and more closely aligned with
conservative politics, the potential for problems between these old allies has increased.
How great have these problems actually proved to be? Because it has been only in the past
few years that many people have even perceived the potential for conflict, we really do not
have much data on which to base a firm conclusion. However, the data that are beginning to
come in indicate that the relationship between religion and social work is not presenting as
great a problem as feared. A study by Eckardt compared the practice of graduates of the
social work program at Temple University, who identified themselves as secular in
orientation, with graduates of the social work program at the Philadelphia College of the
Bible, who identified themselves as evangelical Christians. Eckardt concluded that:
The overwhelming difference in religious beliefs was matched by an equally overwhelming
similarity in practice. There was not always a positive affirmation of the values of the
profession through the practice decisions, but the nature of the responses was similar. A
generalization which can be made from this study is that although the groups tested were
diverse in religious beliefs, they were similar in professional practice.90
A similar finding was reported by Epstein and Buckner, who surveyed practicing social
workers in Georgia, in the heart of the Bible Belt. Of the 214 social workers surve
Chapter 10: The Nature and Causes of Poverty - CORRECT ANSWER -1. Who Are the Poor?
In this section we present a statistical picture of the population in the United States who live
below the poverty line. Two types of pictures are presented. The first is the traditional
means of describing this population based on statistical data gathered mainly by the Census
Bureau as part of its series of Current Population Reports. This is the source of most of the
figures you see on the evening news and that are referred to in statements by lawmakers
and interest groups. This type of information has been referred to as cross-section or
snapshot data: It provides a series of statistical pictures at certain points in time, but it does
not tell us much beyond a general description of the situation at that time. Poverty statistics
show, for example, that the level of poverty in this country is fairly stable, running between
