What is Catholic About Catholic Charities‪?‬

Religious belief and expression are common and important components in most cultures and nations in the world, In the United States religious identification and affiliation have been traditional staples of society, and there has been an increase in the importance of spirituality and religious participation in Americans' lives (Bullis, 1996). Statistics indicate that most U.S. citizens believe in a God, or higher power, and the majority find that religious involvement improves the quality of their lives (Sheridan, Bulls, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992). According to the 1998 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, 55 U.S. church denominations reported a total membership of 50,047,599 people and total contributions of $24,170,133,464 (Lindner, 1998). These statistics indicate increases over earlier years. Given the importance that religious institutions and beliefs have in U.S. society, it could be assumed that it has been a much-focused-on area for social work education and research. Moreover, the initial forms of organized social work in the United States had their beginnings in churches and religious institutions (Ehrenreich, 1985; Leiby, 1978; Popple & Leighninger, 1996; Scheurell, 1987), and expression of religious belief is an often-cited reason that many social workers choose to enter the field (DuBois & Miley, 1996; Popple & Leighninger). Until recently, however, the social work profession gave surprisingly little to no attention to the effect of religion and spirituality on clients and professional practice (Joseph, 1988; Loewenberg, 1988).