Ram Cnaan, MSW, PhD

Professor
Associate Dean for Research
Chair, Doctoral Program in Social Welfare

Bio | Research | Link to Scholarly Papers | Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Research - Recently Completed Books

The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership
Ram A. Cnaan with Robert J. Wineburg and Stephanie C. Boddie

"The Newer Deal is a brave book, arriving just in time for a society searching for new ways to organize its practices of compassion and care. Ram A. Cnaan presents both a provocative analysis of the past century's estrangement of social work from religion and a bold proposal for a new, limited partnership between these two indispensable caring communities that suddenly face a very different America. This book provides surprising resources and sobering reality checks for policy makers, social workers, religious leaders, and all who strive for the common good." -Rev. James P. Wind, PhD, president of the Alban Institute, Inc.

"This is an important book that will be of interest to anyone who is concerned with the dramatic social policy changes taking place in contemporary America. As the federal government transfers responsibility for the welfare of citizens to the states and to local communities, the role of religious-based agencies has again become increasingly important. Cnaan has made a major contribution in analyzing their role, as well as the ambivalent relationship between the social work profession and the religious community."-F. M. Loewenberg, author of Religion and Social Work Practice in Contemporary American Society

As the federal system of entitlements and social services long provided by New DealÐera programs is dismantled and shifted to the states, the religious community finds itself relied upon more than ever to assist with social services for the needy.

The Newer Deal calls upon religious-based organizations and the social workÐsocial service community to put aside their differences and forge a "limited partnership" to provide the social and welfare services that millions depend on. The proposed partnership focuses on joint care for those in need - with attention to services for people of color, gays and lesbians, women, and programs for community empowerment and economic development - while maintaining the values and other interests each partner traditionally holds.

The authors discuss different types of religious-based social services and draw on case examples and research findings to show how the religious community«s role in providing social services is stronger than ever. They examine the relationship between the religious and the social workÐsocial service communities, as well as the issues that have divided the two, and explain the ways in which concern for the poor is integral to the major faith groups.

Contents

Part 1. The Challenge of Devolution and the Promise of Religious-Based Social Services: An Introduction

1. The Ambivalent Coexistence of Social Work and Religious-Based Social Services
2. What Do We Mean by "Religious-Based Social Services"?
3. Religious-Based Social Services in Social Work Literature and Education
4. Reasons for the Rift Between Social Work and Religious-Based Social Services

Part 2. Provision of Religious-Based Social Services: Theological Underpinnings, Historical Trends, and Current Findings

5. Theological Teaching and Emphasis on Helping the Needy
6. Religious Roots of America's Social Services System
7. Religion and the Quality of Life of Individuals
8. Religion and Social Services Provision at the End of the Twentieth Century
9. Empowerment and Organized Religion
10. Religious-Based Social Services Provision: Findings from Local Studies--Greensboro
11. Religious-Based Social Services Provision: Findings from Local Studies--Philadelphia

Part 3. The Challenge Ahead

12. Political and Societal Trends in Social Services Provision
13. Toward a Limited Partnership for a Newer Deal

About the Author

Dr. Ram Cnaan is an associate professor and the director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. He received his doctorate from the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and his BSW and MSW from Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Cnaan has published over two hundred articles in scientific journals on a variety of social issues. He is the author of: The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership (Columbia University Press) and works on a second book on the relevance of religion to social work: Congregations for Society. Dr. Cnaan teaches religion and social work, research methods, statistics, social policy, and policy issues as portrayed in literature. Dr. Cnaan also serves on the editorial board of seven academic journals.

Dr. Cnaan is the director of the Program for the Study of Organized Religion and Social Work. He conducted the first national study on the role of local religious congregations in the provision of social services and introduced an innovative new course on social work and religion. Currently, Dr. Cnaan is conducting the first ever census of congregation in one city, Philadelphia. He is also known as a national expert on nonprofit organizations and voluntary action with a specialty in the study of volunteerism. Previously, Dr. Cnaan researched and published in the areas of information technology in social work practice, mentally-ill among homeless persons, and practice evaluation.

Ordering Information

Columbia University Press
562 W. 113th Street
New York, New York 10025
Telephone: 1-800-944-8648
Fax: 1-800-944-1844
email sw426@columbia.edu

ISBN: 0231116241
Published October, 1999
by Columbia University Press
cloth, 316 pages, $49.50

ISBN: 023111625X
Published October, 1999
by Columbia University Press
paper, 316 pages, $22.50

All proceeds go to Partners for Sacred Places, a national, non-profit, non-sectarian organization founded in 1989 to help embrace, care for and make good use of older and historic religious properties.