Heidi J. Swarts

For groups with a local base, including faith-based networks, National People’s Action, and ACORN, effective national work exhibits these features: Deep local experience on the issues *Campaigns and capacity that […]

Government has frequently turned to the voluntary religious sector to provide social services. The question is how and why it’s done: to entice religious conversion, impose sectarian values, to win conservative votes? Or to meet human needs?

Over the past few years faith-based organizing networks have broken onto the national organizing scene, adding grass-roots power and issue expertise to some of the biggest problems of the day.