Why should the government bail out churches?
Why should the government bail out churches, synagogues, temples, or other houses of worship? This NPR story observes that this new policy, part of the stimulus package, is a break from the past and would appear at first glance to violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause.
Simple: they are economic engines.
Researchers have for a number of years acknowledged the value that religious congregations add to communities. Consider this recent article by Penn researchers Ram Cnaan and Seongho An.
Congregations employ staff, contribute to local economies through purchases of food and other goods, provide many social services that keep marriages and families intact, and often provide schools or other services. Even poor congregations can contribute $1M to local economies annually.
They study six types of valuation:
- Direct spending includes staff salaries, various local vendors (food, flowers, contractors, etc.)
- Magnet effect is the effect of events like weddings, funerals, quinceañeras, etc. on local economies, even poor ones.
- Education/schools/daycares have impact on local economies.
- Green space/playgrounds not a significant financial valuation, but impacts health and safety of children, particularly in dangerous areas.
- Invisible safety net: “augments the city’s network of social services, supplementing the limited capacity of the city and its many cultural, environmental, and social or human service organizations.”
- Individual impact: coping with crime; teaching values; suicide prevention; employment assistance; ending addiction; enhancing health; teaching children values; promoting youth civic engagement; helping immigrant families settle; preventing divorce; helping end abusive relationships.
They write: “For the 90 congregations from Chicago, Fort Worth, and Philadelphia the average fiscal contribution to their local economy was $2,511,376 (with a minimum of $139,219 and a maximum of $15,606,555). Larger churches contributed more to their local economies, as did churches with two or more clergy. Four of the six factors outlined above accounted for overall contributions to the economy. The largest contribution comes from individual impact (38.2%), followed by education (27.1%), direct spending (21.9%), and magnet effect (7.4%).”
These are unique times, and we must all return to first principles about how to care for everyone. Religious congregations have done that for centuries. Worship gives rise to culture. Put simply, those who care about the common good must care about robust congregations, which orient people toward transcendent goods so they do not collapse into self-interest.
