Abstract

On the base of the author’s field research pursued in Georgia (USA) the article considers the social work of the churches and faith-based organizations among refugees. The goal of the article is to analyze the missionary component of the social service of Christian organizations and to determine if (or when) the missionary activities turn into proselytism. The balance of missionary and proselytism in the social work of the specific US religious organizations among refugees and the exposure of the factors helping to protect vulnerable groups from proselytism have not been investigated before. The article studies the connotations of the terms “missionary” and “proselytism” in the documents of the interfaith dialogue and the academic discourse, the views of the churches and the researches on the limits between these terms. In the documents of the interfaith dialogue the main criteria distinguishing missionary and proselytism are the methods of bringing the Gospel as well as the respect/non-respect of the free will and dignity of the mission’s addressees. The academic historiography accepts these criteria but also stresses that proselytism is connected to the deliberate attempt of changing a person’s identity and belonging. The article analyzes the social work of the churches and faith-based organizations in the context of the model of church-state relations in the USA. It demonstrates how the balance of the two main principles of this model: free exercise of religion and separation of church and state, makes the cooperation of the state with faith-based organizations not only possible but also fruitful. Such cooperation is not violation of the principle of the separation of church and state unless it involves proper religious matters, while the social service of churches and faith-based organizations is protected by the free exercise clause. The state appreciates high motivation, emotional involvement and responsibility of the faith-based organizations, doing the social work among refugees, but simultaneously it guarantees inadmissibility of proselytism towards vulnerable groups of people. There is a missionary component in the social service of the US Christian organizations among refugees, but typically various factors prevent its turning into proselytism.