JOINT CENTER News Room
Joint Center Releases Landmark Study on Black Churches and White House Faith-Based Initiative
Study Finds Blue States & Black Churches Benefit Most from Bush Faith-Based Initiative
September 19, 2006
***Download Transcript and the Audiocast of this Forum***
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – A study released today by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that African American churches from the Northeast have benefited much more from the Bush administration’s celebrated Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) than more conservative black churches in the South.
Data from the landmark national survey of 750 black churches found that only 2.4 percent were recipients of FBCI grants, of which 47 percent were from the Northeast, and only 26 percent were from southern states. The findings offer no support for widespread concerns that the Bush administration used the FBCI to gain political favor with black churches.
“Our survey found that a majority of the churches responding favored the FBCI, with churches in the Northeast more likely to be FBCI grant recipients than those in other areas of the U.S.,†said David Bositis, a Joint Center senior research associate, who conducted the study. “The surprising finding was that churches in the ‘blue states’ where Al Gore and John Kerry won in 2000 and 2004, respectively, were more likely to have received FBCI grants than those in ‘red states’ that George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004, with New York and New Jersey leading the list.â€
Still, the study found that there was insufficient outreach to black churches about the FBCI. While 75 percent of the churches surveyed were vaguely aware of the FBCI program, 66 percent did not know about the rules and details for participating, and only one in six (16 percent) had been contacted about applying.
Overall, 20 percent of the churches surveyed gave an unfavorable view of the program, with many expressing uneasiness about the relationship between church and state. For instance, 22 percent gave an unfavorable view of the FBCI program because they opposed involvement with government, while 18 percent were concerned specifically about government control, 12 percent mentioned separation of church and state, and 13 percent raised doubts about whether funding was actually available.
The churches surveyed were randomly selected from a national sampling frame of 18,000 black churches, which represented approximately 35 percent of all black churches, and the selection process was stratified by region, size of church, and denomination. Survey results were based on telephone interviews with head pastors or other ordained personnel, and results have a 3.6 percent margin of error.
Other key findings include:
• Only one in nine black ministers (11 percent) reported applying for grants; churches that applied were larger and had higher revenues, were Evangelical or Pentecostal as opposed to Baptist or Methodist, and were suburban rather than rural.
• Fifty-three percent of black ministers indicated that their churches were interested in participating in the FBCI, with Evangelical and Pentecostal churches being the most interested.
• Even though conservative churches had a more favorable view of the FBCI (70 percent), churches with progressive theologies and socially liberal congregations were more interested in participating than conservative ones.
• Churches that applied for the FBCI grant were more likely to have clothing banks (74 percent versus 66 percent for churches that did not apply), prison ministries (67 percent vs. 58 percent), healthcare programs (66 percent vs. 49 percent), after-school programs (65 percent vs. 46 percent), drug abuse counseling (55 percent vs. 46 percent), and shelter for the homeless (37 percent vs. 30 percent).
The study was released today during a forum at the National Press Club, which included Jay F. Hein, Director, White House Office of the FBCI; Harold Dean Trulear, Associate Professor of Applied Theology, Howard Divinity School; Fred Davie, President, Public/Private Ventures; and Robert Franklin, Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics, Candler School of Theology, Emory University. The panelists discussed the findings, as well as recommendations for increasing participation among black churches and using the program to aid poor and minority communities.
“We are pleased that this study is able to provide concrete data and information on the relationship between black churches and the FBCI, enabling us to separate myth from truth,†said Dr. Margaret C. Simms, interim president of the Joint Center. “It is encouraging to see that many of the respondents are aware of the program and are interested in participating in it. Clearly, though, there is a lot to be done with regard to information dissemination and technical assistance. Black churches need more details about the program, and need assistance in completing funding applications in order for the program to have a significant presence in minority communities.â€
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (FBCI) was created by Executive Order 13199 on January 29, 2001, as one of the key domestic policies of George W. Bush’s campaign promise of “compassionate conservatism.†The essential element of the FBCI is that faith-based organizations have an equal right to compete for funding under any federal social welfare program when there are analogous secular service providers that are eligible to compete.
###
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies informs and illuminates the nation's major public policy debates through research, analysis, and information dissemination in order to: improve the socioeconomic status of black Americans and other minorities; expand their effective participation in the political and public policy arenas; and promote communications and relationships across racial and ethnic lines to strengthen the nation's pluralistic society.
1090 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. 20005-4928
Phone: 202-789-3500 Fax: 202-789-6390 http://www.jointcenter.org