This article is part of the Sacred-Public Partnerships series, published in collaboration with Sacred Sector, an initiative of the Center for Public Justice. The series explores the ways in which faith-based organizations – the sacred sector – and government partner for good. Sacred-Public Partnerships focuses specifically on the intersection of the sacred sector, religious freedom, and government-administered social safety net programs and explores why partnership between government and the sacred sector is essential to the success of social services in the United States.
By Chelsea Langston Bombino
The Sacred-Public Partnerships series has focused on the systems and structures that enable faith-based and government partnerships to thrive and have a positive and distinct impact on the diverse needs of communities. The series opened by exploring the apparent opposition or perceived tensions between community-serving religious organizations and the government-administered social safety net. Collin Slowey, in the introductory article of this series, stated: “The sacred and public sectors have the potential to complement one another and, thereby, enhance their contributions to the public good.” This series, beginning with Collin’s introductory article, explored the public justice principles undergirding the seemingly unlikely partnerships between faith-based nonprofits and the government.
Public justice insists that all of creation, including — individuals, families, houses of worship, nonprofits, businesses, and the government —work together to advance a holistic vision of human flourishing. So though it may seem surprising in a cultural and political moment where the oft-repeated phrase “separation of church and state” is used to denote suspicion or downright hostility toward any type of collaboration between government and religious institutions, such collaborations provide a tangible, almost quintessential image of the aspirations of public justice philosophy applied. An integrated, fully-incarnated understanding of public justice requires that with any difficult social issue, we ask ourselves: What are the proper roles and responsibilities of different individuals and institutions in addressing this issue?
Resisting an overly simplistic answer to the complex and multi-faceted challenges in our pluralistic society, a public justice perspective requires that we think beyond the “personal responsibility/government responsibility” dualism that often emerges as the framework through which difficult issues are discussed. This series provides real-life examples of issues in which individuals, civil society, and government have entered into a conversation about how each can all carry out its distinct, God-given role in addressing deep and difficult problems, from food insecurity to creation care.
“The Sacred-Public Partnerships series has focused on the systems and structures that enable faith-based and government partnerships to thrive.”
Consider a Jewish social services program that empowers and trains senior citizens of all faith backgrounds for new vocational opportunities — this program may very well be carried out with a grant from the local, state or federal government, although that may not be immediately apparent to the community or services recipients. Or consider the family in West Baltimore that grocery shops using their SNAP benefits at DMG Foods. This store is actually a faith-based nonprofit operated by the Salvation Army, and according to their website,
DMG Foods is the first grocery store in the nation to combine social service with a traditional grocery shopping experience. Our social services include nutritional guidance, shopping education, workforce development, and meal planning.
Families who use their SNAP benefits at DMG Foods are engaging in, and advancing, a sacred-public partnership. However, faith-based and government partnerships are not always financial in nature.
As NPR reported last year reported last year, many crisis pregnancy centers, even those that do not directly receive government funding, refer pregnant clients to Medicaid and “rely on Medicaid as a tool for helping low-income pregnant women.” According to NPR’s report, low-income women are often unaware that, if they qualify for Medicaid, they can receive free prenatal and delivery care. In the interview with NPR, Tina Tuley-Lampke, executive director of a crisis pregnancy center in Indiana, explained that she had seen several women decide to continue their pregnancies after learning that their medical care would be provided.
These are just two examples of sacred-public partnerships addressing important issues of our day. Our hope is that the series helped readers to recognize that faith-based and government partnerships are all around us and often found in unexpected places. From food insecurity and immigration-related issues to ballet and adoption services, the series highlighted the ways in which faith-based organizations and government are partnering for good in their communities. The series was designed to present the why, how, and potential of sacred-public partnerships. As we prepare to enter a year in which conversations around politics and the role of government will be heightened, let us use this series as a resource for pointing towards positive and hopeful examples of how sacred-public partnerships contribute to human flourishing in our communities.
Chelsea Langston Bombino is the Director of the Sacred Sector, an initiative of the Center for Public Justice. Sacred Sector is a learning community for faith-based organizations and emerging leaders within the faith-based nonprofit sector to integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of organizational life. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Sacred Sector Program Coordinator Virginia Creasy at virginia.creasy@cpjustice.org.
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