The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare

“Cnaan has reported an elegant story about religious congregations and their role in providing social welfare assistance. The book is emperically rich, narratively enhanced, and theoretically thick. It not only documents the role of congregations but also identifies their limitations as social welfare providers. The book is informative and catalyzes reflection on the issues. It is grounded in a large, national, multimethod research project spanning the United States, with a limited focus in Canada. The weaving together of these data is impressive. I particularly appreciate the use of case studies to explicate the array of congregational approaches to caring. For aficionados of case study method, of which I am one, these materials are rich, dense, and artfully constructed. The survey data are also well presented. Together, these data provide a story that resembles an artfully constructed mosaic.”– “Non Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly”

“The first systematic and comprehensive social science description of social service contributions of diverse religious congregations. . . . Could not be more timely] or useful to academic and religious community audiences which now seek credible ‘handles’ for accessing and understanding this newly exposed but surprisingly extensive faith based contribution to human welfare in the United States.”–Edward Newman, Temple University

“The Invisible Caring Hand represents an excellent addition to studies focused in understanding the role of local churches in their community.”– “Sociology of Religion”

“This book provides some much needed insight into the way congregations function in the povision of social services.”– “Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work”