Social Roles of Religion

1
Social Roles of Religion

• Direct service (food, clothing, shelter)
• Economic development (housing, jobs)
• Community organizing (IAF, PICO, LAM)
• Conversion (drugs, gangs)
• Community building (social capital)
• Political advocacy

2
Religion in California

• Half the congregations lt150 members
• 40 percent lt100 members
• Only a quarter gt387 members
• One-fifth have no full-time staff
• Size raises questions about capacity for social
  ministry
• at least in terms of formal programs

3
Social Ministries (California)

• Emergency Services
• Food 78 percent
• Shelter 41 percent
• Clothing 68 percent
• Transportation 46 percent
• Medical care 25 percent
• Cash Assistance 60 percent

4
Social Ministries (California)

• Family Services
• Child/adult care 28 percent
• Mentoring 32 percent
• Big Brother/Sister
• Health Care 52 percent

5
Social Ministries (California)

• Education Programs
• Education training 16 percent
• Job search 23 percent
• Literacy 24 percent
• Tutoring/GED 21 percent
• Scholarships 34 percent

6
Social Ministries (California)

• Advocacy Programs
• Needs of the poor 33 percent
• Community organizing 41 percent
• Economic development 12 percent

7
Social Ministries (California)

• Half the congregations spent gt10 of annual
  budget on social ministries
• Fifteen percent said they spent gt 25 on social
  ministries
• Average amount 53,574
• A quarter of the congregations estimated
  volunteers give 1,000 hours a year

8
Social Ministries (California)

• Almost half (46) said the demand for services
  had increased in last 2 years
• Two-thirds said they would be providing more
  services in the future

9
Los Angeles

• Demographic Changes

10
CaliforniaChanges in the US Census

• 1990
• 57 White
• 25 Latino
• 7 Black
• 9 Asian
• 2 Other

• 2000
• 47 White
• 29 Latino
• 6 Black
• 11 Asian
• 2 Other
• 5 Multiracial

11
California Census

• 33.9 million in State of California
• 9.5 million live in Los Angeles County
• Nonwhites outnumber whites by 3 million

12
Summary Conclusions

• No racial or ethnic group forms a majority in
  California
• White population dropped by nearly a half million
  over the past decade
• One-third of the nations Latinos now live in
  California
• Asians/Pacific Islanders surged 38.5
• Population of blacks held steady

13
Summary Conclusions (cont)

• While still massive, immigration to the state
  slowed compared to 1980s
• Economic opportunities are drawing new immigrants
  to the Northwest and South
• Nevertheless
• Los Angeles added 656,174 residents during the
  decade
• It is Americas most populous county

14
Summary Conclusions (cont)

• Californians increasingly moved inland to the
  vast agricultural Central Valley
• Housing Prices
• Central Valley 151,580
• San Francisco 550,000

15
Population Growth Since 1990

• Los Angeles 7.4
• Ventura 12.6
• Orange 18.1
• San Bernardino 20.5
• Riverside 32.0
• Conclusion LA is filling up people are moving
  elsewhere

16
Change in Age Since 1990

• The under-18 population grew by more than 20 in
  Southern California
• Latinos accounted for almost all of this growth
• Number of white youth declined by 11

17
How immigration is changing the United States

• Each year, a million new immigrants
• 700,000 legally 300,000 illegally
• Top 4 sending countries (1998)
• Mexico 131,575
• China 36,884
• India 36,482
• Philippines 34,466

18
Change in function of religion after 1965
immigration law

• Before 1965 religions task was assimilation (as
  Protestant, Catholic, Jew)
• After 1965 (non-Anglo immigrants)
• Assimilation/incorporation, but also
• Preservation of homeland identity/ connection
• Increasing Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs