Blog post 10

In thinking about religion and religious privilege, I began thinking a lot about faith-based nonprofits. I have worked in the nonprofit sector for a while, but always in a secular organization. I myself have never strongly identified with any particular religion, but years of Christian summer camps have given me a visceral reaction to any organization that imposes its beliefs on the people it serves, regardless of their personal backgrounds. I know that faith-based organizations have done a lot of good for a lot of people, but I have a hard time understanding the duality of the organization – are you serving these people and their problems, or are you gunning for conversions?

            These ideas have really struck home with me lately – my father is an alcoholic, and has been struggling for several years. My father is an atheist, and though it is a faith-based program, we pushed for him to go into AA simply because of the success rate. He pushed back for a long time, telling us he “refused to drink the cool-aid” of a religious recovery program. After several difficult years and a rough rock bottom, my dad finally gave AA a try, and we have seen a really significant difference. He is now more than 1 year sober, and he is very involved with the program. I appreciate AA and everything they have helped my father overcome, but I can’t help but wonder if we could have gotten him in sooner had they been a secular organization.