This week marked the 50th anniversary on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty”. Announced in his 1964 State of the Union Address, Johnson described an “unconditional war on poverty” and laid out a series of policy programs and initiatives designed to reduce poverty and promote opportunity.
Fifty years later, poverty is still very present. President Obama devoted a December speech to economic mobility, calling it “the defining challenge of our time” and went on to say, “the decisions we make on these issues over the next few years will determine whether or not our children will grow up in an America where opportunity is real.”
Is opportunity real in America today? Shared Justice wanted to find out what Millennials, and in particular Evangelical Millennials, think about poverty and opportunity. So we commissioned a survey with the Barna Group to find out what Millennials (ages 18-29) believe.
[To see the full report and results from our Perspectives on Poverty poll, click here.]
We asked four questions:
Compared with 10 years ago, do you think it is harder today for a child who grows up poor to get out of poverty as an adult?
How essential are each of the following: a full time job; graduating from high school; and not having children before getting married to escaping poverty.
Do you think government programs that try to help people get out of poverty are successful or unsuccessful?
Do you think non-profit programs which try to help people get out of poverty are successful or unsuccessful?
The results?
Evangelicals are not persuaded of declining opportunity in America.
Yet, because of their views on the importance of marriage before children and its importance to people getting out of poverty, Evangelicals can play a key role in poverty alleviation.
Anti-poverty efforts are likely to be more successful if all Millennials, and particularly Evangelicals, are engaged in and through the work of a broad array of institutions, including churches and both religiously based and non-religious non-profits.
Additionally, government policy must ensure these diverse institutions can develop and operate such programs, including on a religious basis, so everyone can play a part in pursuing justice for all.
[To see the full report and results from our Perspectives on Poverty poll, click here.]
Last August our Editorial Team wrote,
“God sovereignly provides unique institutions to address all the different aspects of human thriving. As a result, churches can focus their efforts on their unique calling to guide people into restored relationships with God. Moreover, local churches often are well-situated for identifying which of their poorer neighbors’ needs have been neglected.
Once those needs are identified, Christians can help discern which institutions—including governmental agencies, religious groups, health centers, legal clinics, community groups, and para-church ministries—are best suited to serve those specific needs. Most importantly, the broader church can help foster cooperation between these institutions to do so.”
Poverty is as complex and different as the people it effects, and there’s no one solution for reducing it. Government has a vital role, but so do churches and families, as well as non-profits, schools, and more. The ‘war’ on poverty will only be won when all of these institutions are allies and not adversaries - and that requires an understanding that each has a distinct and important role to play.
This year Shared Justice is going to continue to talk about what this alliance of institutions can look like– and we’d love for you to be part of that conversation.
To see the full report and results from our Perspectives on Poverty poll, click here.