Chapter 1
Introduction
One of the developments in social work in the second half of
the 20th century has been a marked decline in the recognition of the Christian
religion in the teaching and practice of professional social work. The
secularization of the social work profession, the notion of religion in both an
ideological and institutional sense having little or no part in forming or
informing the world of social work, has been very extensive (Hugen, 1994). For
many in the social work profession, this question of the relationship of
Christian faith and social work is inconsequential, irrelevant, and for some,
an inappropriate topic for professional investigation. Even presently, when
spirituality is being recognized by the profession as a legitimate area of
inquiry, Christianity, as one spiritual voice, is recognized only hesitantly.
This is unfortunate for a number
of reasons. First, social work once used the language of Christianity as a
basis for its existence. Historically, such language was widely and eloquently
used by both social work educators and practitioners. Second, spirituality, and
to a large degree Christian spirituality, is very much part of our society and
continues to play a significant role in providing moral rationale and reasoning
to our political, social, and charitable institutions. As a result, many social
workers want to know what role Christian faith plays in a helping
profession—specifically, the professional existence and activities of social work.
The purpose of this book is to help respond to this question.
Looking at history, and
particularly the history of social welfare, it would be hard for anyone to deny
that the Christian church is one of the true originators of charity. Out of
ancient Israel’s concern for justice and mercy toward the sick, the poor, the
orphaned, the widowed — from Micah and Hosea, Jeremiah and Isaiah — grew the
compassion of Jesus and the devotion of Paul. Both the justice and love of God
set forth and exemplified in the Judeo-Christian tradition have given
motivation and direction to much of western culture’s charities. Historically
the whole shape and operation of organized welfare is inexplicable apart from
this religious conviction and commitment. Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant
thought have continuously shaped the ideological basis of social work practice.
One writer has suggested that these religious traditions, along with the
secular philosophy of humanism, are the four foundational roots out of which
has emerged the value base of the social work profession (Kohs, l966). Many
social workers find the assumptions, beliefs, and values of the Christian faith
helpful in providing a frame of reference for understanding and responding to
both individual and societal problems.
Many social workers who are Christians do not hold to the idea
that there is such a thing as Christian social work—only Christians in social
work (we belong to this group). They believe that one’s Christian perspective
comes into play in social work practice when one is deciding what to do, when to do it, how to do
it, and why one should do it. They
clearly identify with those who seek to follow Christ in a servant role
focusing upon the alleviation of pain and suffering and the establishment of justice
and peace in the world. It is for this significant group of social workers - from
students, whose motivations to enter the profession are informed by their
Christian faith, to seasoned professionals, whose desire is to further develop Christian
approaches to helping - that this book is written.
A Christian Worldview and
Social Work
It is increasingly being recognized that social work, despite
its preoccupation in the last half century with ‘science’ and with developing
objective and empirically validated practice techniques, is also a normative
profession (Siporin, 1982, 1983). Normative means that the social work profession
is also concerned with how persons and societies ought to behave “on
principle,” and that the purposes and goals of the social work profession are
anchored in particular values. A
normative principle is an objective rule that when properly applied
distinguishes between what is right and wrong. Such rules may be applied to the
behavior of individuals, whether client or professional, to social
institutions, as well as social and political change processes. So when the
social work profession advocates for a more just redistribution of resources
that are deemed valuable to society, a value basis or normative principle for
such a redistribution proposal is needed. For example, to advocate for a
national health care plan because one believes that for persons in the United
States adequate health care is a basic human right, requires a value or normative
principle as to what is the basis for such a right. Human behavior, both
individual and collective, is also socially defined as good or bad, normal or
deviant. Whether one chooses as a social worker to enforce such normative
standards or advocate for their change, the essential “morality” of these norms
or standards requires justification.
Social work has always been guided by such normative principles,
although the basis of these principles rarely has been clearly explicated. For
Christians, the normative principles used to make moral decisions have always
been based upon the principles set forth in the Bible. An important
professional task for Christian social workers, therefore, is to relate or test
the values of the profession with principles derived from a biblical perspective.
Articulating these Christian principles — helping the reader develop a
Christian worldview related to social work — is one of the focuses of this
book, and is addressed in section one, chapters 2 through 7.
In chapter 2, David Sherwood
lays out a framework for a Christian worldview for social work practice. Beryl
Hugen in chapter 3 addresses how one’s Christian faith and one’s professional
work are related through the Christian concept of calling. In chapters 4 and 5,
Katherine Amato-von Hemert and Mary Anne Poe, both identify central biblical
principles and theologies (at times in tension) related to the understandings
of human nature and of God’s action in the world and the problem of poverty.
Sarah Kreutziger, in chapter 6, offers a historical look at how Christian
principles gave shape to the policy and practice of an early twentieth century
Christian settlement house program. In the seventh and last chapter in this
section, Lawrence Ressler speaks to some of the current tensions and conflicts
involved in working out a Christian worldview within the social work
profession.
Spiritual Dimensions in Social
Work Practice
Today there is a small but
growing movement within the social work profession that affirms that
spirituality and religious beliefs are integral to the nature of the person and
have a vital influence on human behavior. These spiritual and religious
dimensions are being increasingly recognized as important features of social
work practice, at all phases of the social work helping process and in all
areas of practice. This perspective embraces a holistic conception of the
person, with this view more recently being elaborated as the
bio-psycho-social-spiritual perspective. This perspective reintroduces
spiritual issues as a legitimate focus for social work practice and provides
for a more complete understanding of client strengths, challenges, and
resources. As a result, there is now a need for the development of theoretical
frameworks and practice models, including assessment tools and intervention
strategies that flow from this perspective.
Social work research also has
shown that although many social workers see religious and spiritual issues as
important parameters in practice and important in their own lives as well as in
the lives of their clients, many are hesitant to initiate discussion of
spiritual issues with clients (Canda & Furman, 1999; Derezotes & Evans,
1995; Joseph, 1988). Much of this hesitation is due to the lack of knowledge
and skill in this area. Greater sensitivity to the concerns of the religious
client has also been shown to be related to the social worker’s own spiritual
awareness — the ability to integrate the personal, spiritual and religious self
with the professional self. Again, there has been a reluctance to incorporate
such knowledge into social work education, considering such discussions an
intrusion into a private sphere.
This movement within the
profession to embrace a bio-psycho-social-spiritual focus in practice, along
with the promotion of a professional learning environment that is more
supportive of personal religious and spiritual experiences, has resulted in the
development of models for incorporating spirituality in a wide variety of
practice areas. Christian social workers now have the opportunity to truly
minister to the whole person. Several chapters in section two address these
spiritual dimensions focusing on a broad range of practice areas.
Diana Garland, in chapter 8,
presents a model for understanding faith as a dimension of family life. In chapter
9, Hope Straughan reviews and critiques several theoretical perspectives on
individual spiritual development. David Hodge and Crystal Holtrop present a
variety of spiritual assessment tools useful in different social work practice
settings in chapter 10. In chapter 11, Jason Pittman and Scott Taylor offer a
comprehensive model for incorporating Christian spirituality in substance abuse
practice. Chapters 12, 13, and 14 each address the role of spirituality in
practice with a specific vulnerable population. Roger Fallot outlines in
chapter 12 a model for practice with persons experiencing severe mental
illness. Cheryl Brandsen proposes a model for addressing spirituality in end of
life care with the elderly in chapter 13. The role of spirituality and religion
in child welfare, specifically foster care, is presented in chapter 14 by Gary
Anderson and Jill Mikula. In the concluding chapter (15) in this section, David
Sherwood offers a Christian perspective on ethical decision making in social
work practice.
The Changing Environment for Social
Work Practice
Social work as a profession has
undergone a variety of changes in the twentieth century. Many of these reflect
both significant material and technological changes in our society, along with
a shift in our ideas about relationships between people and their social
environments, particularly government. The early twentieth century was fertile
ground for the development and expansion of broad governmental responsibility
for social welfare. The idea of the welfare state and of the centrality of
government and public service seemed both inevitable and probably necessary.
But the latter part of the
twentieth century was much less hospitable to the concept of the welfare state.
A perceived lack of results from publicly funded and delivered human services
along with a focus on renewing civil society propels today’s government leaders
to call for community and faith-based organizations to take increasing
responsibility for the social and economic needs of communities and persons in
poverty. A central question is whether government can better meet the country’s
critical social needs by working in partnership with the faith community,
focusing particularly on congregations and faith-based community development organizations.
Several legislative and legal
changes have helped facilitate this increased involvement of faith-based
organizations in the delivery of social services. The Section 104 “Charitable
Choice” provision of the 1996 welfare reform legislation enabled religious
organizations to receive government funding for the delivery of social
services, without requiring changes in governance, employment practices, or
religious characteristics (Center for Public Justice, 1999). President Bush’s
development of the Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives along with
several recent legislation initiatives has given further support to this
movement. Social workers who are able to understand and relate to both the public
(governmental) and faith-based service communities are today in an important
and advantageous position to influence the development of policies and programs
that help meet important social needs in their communities.(Aker and Scales, in
press 2003). Section three includes several chapters focused on this changing
environment of social work practice.
In chapter 16, Amy Sherman
outlines a model for developing congregational social ministries, along with
identifying a variety of exemplar programs. Heidi Unruh and Ron Sider, in
chapter 17, offer a holistic community ministry model that includes
evangelistic (proselytizing) efforts while considering professional social work
values. David Sherwood posits a more limited and cautious perspective for the
role of evangelism in social work practice in chapter 18. The larger political
context (legislative and legal) to this changing ideology regarding the role of
faith in human service programming is addressed by Doug Koopman in chapter 19. Finally,
in chapter 20, Rick Chamiec-Case offers a model for how congregations can be
more inclusive of persons with mental retardation.
Getting the Most Out of This Resource
This collection is intended for
a variety of audiences, including social work practitioners, educators, and
students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book is organized so that it can be used as training or
reference materials for practitioners, or as a textbook or supplemental text in
a social work class.
As we planned this edition, we
contacted instructors and asked them how they were using the first edition. We
found that many social work instructors are using selected portions of the book
as supplemental reading in a variety of classes across the curriculum. Instructors may require students to purchase
the book at the beginning of their coursework and assign a few chapters each
semester, with written assignments and class exercises to help students digest
the material. For example, in an
introductory social work course, students might read Chapters 2 and 3 on
worldviews and on calling and then write about their own worldviews or reflect
upon their own sense of vocation. Chapter
7 introduces students to the professional context of social work and the
tensions they may encounter.
Instructors may ask students to browse professional literature or web
resources to identify notations on Christian religion in professional
literature. Another idea is to assign and discuss in class Chapters 4, 5, and 6,
to provide a historical foundation that emphasizes the role of Christian
charity before the profession was established as well as early twentieth
century Christian settlements and charity organizations; a role that is often
minimized in introductory social work texts.
In a human behavior class,
Chapters 8 and 9 provide alternative views to classic theories of behavior and
introduce additional theorists who consider spirituality as a dimension of
human behavior, such as James Fowler.
Students may read these chapters vis a vis the work of classical
theorists such as Freud, Erickson, Kohlberg, or Carter and McGoldrick and
reflect on how consideration of the spiritual dimension of persons broadens our
view of human behavior.
There are a variety of articles
useful for practice courses. Chapter 15
provides a framework for ethical decision making that students could try out by
applying the model to case studies or vignettes. Chapter 10 provides a variety of tools of spiritual assessment
that students could practice in a laboratory setting, interviewing one another. Chapters 12, 13, and 14 provide specific
information about practice with particular populations at risk; students may
research these populations and bring to class specific examples of how
Christians may apply common practice principles.
In macro-practice,
organizational behavior, or policy courses, the articles Chapters 16-20
introduce readers to congregations and faith based organizations. These articles provide a context for current
policy debates surrounding initiatives that encourage partnerships between
congregations and government agencies. Chapters 17 and 18 could be used as a
framework for a role play or structured debate on the role of evangelism in
social services. Chapters 16 and 19 may be assigned with a variety of web
resources that provide the latest information on this changing policy and
practice landscape. Chapter 20 features
several case vignettes that can serve as classroom tools to stimulate
discussion.
Humility and Competence
One of the primary goals of this
book is to apply a Christian perspective to the realities of contemporary social
work practice. It is important to remember that in offering a Christian
understanding and response to social problems that it does not mean that Christians
in social work have all the answers. The Bible may provide guidance, but does
not always provide clear and specific direction for the sometimes confusing
moral and ethical situations social workers encounter in practice. As Christian
social workers, we know that we live and practice in a broken world, and that
our only real comfort is that we are not our own, but we belong, body and soul,
in life and in death, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
It is also easy to assert the evident Christian goodness of
helping people. And it can be easier still to assume that a Christian perspective
on the profession and practice of social work furthers that good. But goodness
of motivation may be and frequently is unrelated to outcome. There is always
the possibility that our Christian perspectives are no more than self-serving
rationales (promoting judgmentalism, discrimination and selective helping
motives) rather than the product of a thoughtful analysis. With this book,
therefore, we have attempted to offer a Christian perspective for social work practice
that is within the parameters of contemporary models of professional social
work research and scholarship. We believe that all knowledge is God’s
knowledge, and clearly the social work profession can also inform the Christian
community.
References
Aker, R., & Scales, T.L., (In press 2003). “Charitable
Choice, Social
Workers and
Rural Congregations: Partnering to Build Community Assets”, in Scales, T.L. and
Streeter, C. eds. Asset Building to Sustain Rural Communities. Pacific
Grove, CA, Brooks/Cole.
Canda, E.R., & Furman, L.D. (1997). Spiritual diversity in social
work practice: The heart of helping. New York: The Free Press.
Center
for Public Justice. A guide to charitable choice: An overview of section
104.
1999.
Derezotes, D.S. &
Evans, K.E. (1995). Spirituality and religiosity in practice: In-depth
interviews of social work practitioners. Social
Thought, 18(1), 39-54.
Hugen, B.
(1994).The secularization of social work. Social
Work and
Christianity, 21(4), 83-101.
Joseph,
M.V. (1988). Religion and social work practice. Social Casework, 60(7), 443-452.
Kohs, S.C. (1966). The Roots of Social Work. Association
Press.
Siporin, M. (1982).
Moral philosophy in social work today. Social
Service Review, 56, 516-38.
Siporin, M. (1983).
Morality and immorality in working with clients. Social Thought, 15, (3/4), 42-52.