In America, there are two primary institutions for ensuring the well being of less fortunate citizens: the government and the church.
Prior to the Civil War, Catholic and Protestant Christian churches mitigated the needs of America’s poor citizens with some success, while government assistance, particularly at the federal level, was rare, if not altogether unheard of. The success of the churches’ efforts to alleviate poverty, however, was greatly due to the fact that before the middle of the nineteenth century most of America’s truly poor (i.e. slaves) were not served by the churches, but rather maintained like livestock by their wealthy owners.
In the 1860s, when four million black Americans slaves were freed and the economy was destabilized, those same four million Americans became officially poor and unemployed– although still not officially citizens. Many were even forced to go back to the plantations from which they were freed in an attempt to earn just enough in wages to avoid starvation. Informal and inhumane as it may have been, some scholars refer to this as the first American “welfare for work program.”
Around the same time, waves of unskilled immigrants fleeing famine and harsh economic conditions in Europe were also flooding into the country’s northern states. The influx of immigrants combined with the freeing of millions of slaves necessitated major changes in a country that was increasingly unable to deliver on the promise of the American Dream, and since that point in history, American churches and other non-governmental organizations have failed miserably to provide social welfare and serve what the Christian Bible identifies as “the least of us.”
In the churches’ stead, the government (both federal and state) was forced to assume the role of redistributing wealth and providing food, shelter, and services to American citizens that could not or would not provide for themselves. Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal cemented government intervention into matters of social welfare with programs like social security and unemployment insurance.
Today, political debates regarding government welfare programs are raging. There are valid concerns as to whether the programs condone or even encourage an unhealthy dependence, but a sad irony seems entirely lost on many of those who stand so firmly against government intervention: those who balk at any semblance of a welfare state (particularly conservative evangelical Christians) disregard their own churches’ shortcomings and ignore the cold reality that there is no other feasible solution outside of third-world poverty for millions of Americans.
For many reasons, it would be ideal to turn over social welfare programs to churches and other non-profit organizations, but the churches and non-profits themselves are the first to explain how their inability to help the needy is directly linked to the lack of funding they receive via voluntary contributions.
According to the self-reporting of Christian churches, only 3%-5% of Christians give the biblically mandated minimum 10% of their finances to the church. One might make the argument that relieving government from the responsibility of social welfare would significantly decrease every American’s tax obligations and therefore lead to increased giving in the churches, but if the word of God can only generate obedience from 5% of heavily-taxed Christians, would lightly-taxed Christians respond dramatically better?
The fact is, people are greedy by nature, and it takes the threat of fines and even imprisonment to make us share what we have with others, just like it takes the threat of a spanking or time-out to force most children to share their toys. Government is undeniably wasteful and corrupt, but it is only when conviction from God becomes more effective than conviction from the IRS that America can have the smaller government that so many conservatives desire.
AE said:
“Government is undeniably wasteful and corrupt…”
While I agree with much of this post I do take issue with the above statement. In my experience any large organization (government, non profit, corporate or religious) is equally likely to be wasteful and/or corrupt. I know too many honest, committed and hard working people in the public sector not to be frustrated by this so easily accepted (and often repeated) generalization. The challenge in larger organizations is to balance accountability with organizational goals. A challenge that I think government often meets as well, if not better, than private sector counterparts.
J. Palmer said:
Fair enough, AE.
And I would add that the private sector and religious institutions certainly are not immune to corruption and waste.
Mark Moore said:
Jason:
Interesting take on what the Church is supposed to be doing in this world. I would not, though, go so far as to say that the actions – or in-actions – of the Church have caused big government. And, it’s certainly not correct to point fingers at the Church as if to say, “You guys need to do what your supposed to do and help the poor.”
That is not the mission of the Church.
Throughout the New Testament, believers and the Church are called to preach the gospel. It wasn’t “preach the gospel AND help the poor”. it wasn’t “preach the gospel AND heal the sick” – it was, simply, preach the gospel. In the end, the gospel is all that matters. (As a matter of fact, when Jesus speaks of the poor, the blind, the lame – he is speaking of a spiritual condition, not a physical condition.)
The gospel contains the news that, in Christ, there will one day be a New Kingdom – one that he will bring to reality. That’s the kingdom that will be without sin – and pain, and sorrow, and trials. All things will be made new. So, we preach the gospel because it contains that news and those who believe will enjoy God forever.
Until then, sin (our greed, our lack of commitment to tithing, our insensitivity to those less fortunate, et al.) will continue.
However, while it is not the primary purpose, the Church should help those less fortunate. But, scripture is clear regarding that a church is to help its members and fellow believers first and foremost. That is part of the kingdom work in the here and now. It’s the ‘shalom’ of the city that we seek (see the exiled children of Israel who worked for the good of the pagan city because, in making it a better place, it became a better place for them.)
But, before you (or anyone else) blows a gasket, as believers in Christ, we are called to love – friends and enemies – and do that by feeding the hungry, helping the poor, healing the sick. Because we are loved by Christ, we, in turn, share that love to others.
So, we will always have the poor with us, but the Church doesn’t exist to feed them or pay their bills. It exists, primarily, to proclaim the gospel. From there, we are to help brothers and sisters in Christ, and show our love to the world by extending love in meeting not only spiritual needs, but physical needs as well.
The Church can be blamed for many ills in this world, but big government is not one. That would be better placed in the history of political philosophies, policies, and leaders.
J. Palmer said:
Mark,
I hold you as an authority on matters of the church, and I agree with your analysis of the church’s priorities.
My post is more of a response to the people who hold the belief that it IS the church’s job to provide welfare and social services. It is a very common argument against big government, and also a very common argument among those who identify themselves as conservatives and evangelicals. I have personally heard the argument many times.
It is hard to know whether or not the folks who say, “it is the church’s job,” actually believe in that maxim or if they just abhor the idea of the progressive agenda so much that they are willing to use a flawed theory as convenient cover. Either way, I find the argument ironic at the least.
Robert Nielsen said:
Here in Ireland looking after the poor was a position traditionally reserved for the Church and as a result, the welfare state never fully developed. The result was disastrous. Church run schools (particularly those for poor, orphans etc) were places of great cruelty where beatings and abuse were common. Single mothers had to rely on/were sent to Magdalene Laundries, odious Church run institutions where women were kept in prison like conditions and forced to work for no pay.
So we’ve tried keeping government out of charity and letting the church run it instead and the result was a disaster.
J. Palmer said:
I appreciate that perspective, Robert. It seems like there is a lot the US could learn from that model. I would much rather learn from another’s mistakes than make the same mistakes myself.
Jason Kramer said:
You are on the right path here, but I would not necessarily blame churches for failing to fulfill their mission. Rather, by looking at the history you will see that the churches increasing reached out to government, or were co-opted by government (there is a “chicken or the egg” debate in there) to work together in public-private partnerships. The idea being that more could be served with expenses spread out in society rather than with merely the active believers.
Incidentally, this co-opting partnership was also responsible for other things, like the government role in marriage which fuels another big debate.
Another fascinating element in the story of Church and (big) State are the immigrant waves. The arrival of Catholics in large numbers changed the the prior dynamic which was built on a Protestant ethos. Long story short, Catholics were more used to centralized authority. With emerging and concentrated urban voting blocs, this helped foster government growth.
Samuel Kuye Oladimeji said:
The discussion centers on America but the truth or mimetic analysis is that virtually all countries are involved. I wonder if the world will get better or the better and best is to be expected only in the new kingdom that the Gospel promised us. Poverty, everywhere, is a great problem that no government or non-government bodies can eradicate; it can be alleviated but God’s intervention is necessary. How can God be involved when almost every body is far from God’s fear?