Fight Truth Decay. Brush Up on your Bible Every Day: Challenges to Researchers Studying Faith-Based Initiatives

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Fight Truth Decay. Brush Up on your Bible Every
Day Challenges to Researchers Studying
Faith-Based Initiatives

• Darrell Irwin, Ph.D.
• University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• Research Methodology Presentation

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Percent of those rating importance of God in
their lives on a scale of 10
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The American Believer

• 90 percent of Americans believe in a higher
  power.
• Most, 60 percent, are certain that God exists.

• In 1963, 2 of 3 of us believed the bible was the
  literal Word of God. Today it is 1 of 3. Still,
  4 of 5 of us believe that the bible is the
  inspired word of God.

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Religion Becomes Identity

• Affirming that the bible is the inspired Word of
  God serves in part to identify oneself as part of
  the community of Bible believing Christians. In
  doing this, knowledge of the bible is not as
  important as establishing a group identity.
• Trend is increasing variety of denominations.

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Steps for Studying Faith Based Initiatives

• Approaching Faith
• Community
• 2. Being Effective
• 3. Meeting the Needs

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Approaching the Faith Based Community

• Initiating contact
• Give positive reason for partnering with faith
  organization.
• Agree to terms
• Access
• Boundaries
• Who owns information.

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Being Effective in the Faith Community

• Respect Church or Organization.
• Religious Service may be a priority over Social
  Service provision.
• Cultural Relativism
• Know ABCs (American Born Chinese) from AMEs
  (African Methodist Episcopal).

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Meeting the Needs of the Faith-Based Community

• Give of your time
• Make media contacts
• Be entrepreneurial
• Discover spiritual meaning of services
• Hold governments and churches accountable

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The truth in Teen Challenge, Blue Nile and all
Faith-Based initiatives is universal and makes
the prevention of delinquency and drug dependence
possible.
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BLUE NILE - Harlems Alternative to Delinquency
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The Cross, Switchblade and Christmas TreeLong
Islands Teen Challenge
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Pray Ball Ministries - Arizona
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Long Beach Faith-Based Organizations

• Father Leo Booth
• Spiritual Concepts
• Asian Pacific Family
• Center, Pacific Clinics
• Dr. Venble Kong Chhean, Long Beach
• Asian Pacific Mental
• Health Program

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The Wealth of Faith

• HHS RESEARCH GRANTS
• Caliber Associates VA 236,633
• Florida International University FL 210,622
• University of Pennsylvania PA 193,456
• University of Maryland, College Park MD
  218,098
• TOTAL 858,809

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Comparisons with Standard ResearchStandard
Faith-Based

• Statement of problem
• Ethical Neutrality
• Outreach
• Logic and Rational
• Goal Oriented

• Positive Viewpoint
• Committed Action
• Outreach/Spiritual Inreach
• Faithful and Spiritual
• Means to Transformation

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Published Research on Faith-Based Programs

• http//www.uncwil.edu/news/research/2002/dec/20021
  2-irwin.html

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Thank you for listening

• To share further
• Darrell Irwin
• Dept. of Sociology and C. Justice
• UNCW
• 601 S. College Road
• Wilmington, NC 28428
• Irwind_at_uncw.edu