Faith and Collaboration: A Qualitative Analysis of Faith-Based Social Service Programs in Organizational Relationships

As faith-based organizations and congregations are increasingly relied upon for social service provision in the United States, the collaborative relationships formed for human service purposes regularly include one or more faith-related organizations. Despite the growing attention on faith-based organizations and their history of participation in social service delivery, research concerning their interaction with others in the public and private sectors remains quite sparse. This article describes the findings of a qualitative post hoc analysis of a national study examining fifteen diverse faith-based social service programs. Findings emerged in three categories: partners, purposes, and relationships.