Faith Makes a Difference: A Study of the Influence of Faith in Human Service Programs
co-written by Beryl Hugen and Fred De Jong, Professors of Social Work
(with Karen Woods of the Acton Institute)
Policy Forum
Summer 2005, Volume 8

The data from 564 privately funded human service programs show that programs with a faith component often structure themselves, find funding, and offer services differently from those that do not. Many of the study’s participating programs are part of voluntary community organizations that are faith based; run by staff and volunteers motivated by deeply held religious convictions; and try to help people in need at the local level, most often with little public support. These faith-related programs tend to use individual gifts, congregations or denominations, and dues or fees much more for funding that those that have no faith component. They are also more likely to explicitly mention or make mandatory a faith component to the program participants. A program’s faith element relates to the people they serve and the type of help they provide, as programs with more explicit and mandatory faith-related elements are likely to be substance-abuse programs. This study is an important beginning step in measuring the type and degree of participant exposure to a faith-related service.

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