Community Organizing as Congregational Practice: Social-Scientific and Theological Perspectives

Abstract

The convergence of religious and political praxis is a vital concern for the future of practical theology, and this can be studied well through a movement known as faith-based or congregation-based community organizing (CBCO). The movement began with the Chicago communities organized by Saul D. Alinsky in the 1930 s and 1940 s, and it has been renewed in the 1970 s with attention to the values of religious congregations. The movement has spread across the United States with congregations and other organizations working together in different cities to pursue justice through political action. Practical theology should attend more closely to this movement because of its dual nature, focusing on religion and politics, and on human and divine praxis. Despite the dual nature of the movement, most writing about CBCO has considered it primarily as a political phenomenon and has relied on the paradigms of social science. In this article, I explore the social-scientific studies, then examine more thoroughly those studies of CBCO that reflect upon the movement theologically. I identify central insights from the theological analyses, identify gaps in those reflections, and formulate questions that could generate a more complete Christian practical theology of CBCO.