Baggett, Jerome P.

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BAGGETT, Jerome P.

PERSONAL:

Male. Education: Boston College, B.A.; Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, MA, M.T.S.; Graduate Theological Union/University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, 1735 Le Roy Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709. E-mail[email protected].

CAREER:

Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, CA, associate professor of religion and society, 2000—.

WRITINGS:

Habitat for Humanity: Building Private Homes, Building Public Religion, Temple University Press (Philadelphia, PA), 2000.

Contributor to books, including Poverty and Religion, edited by Ronald Y. Nakasone, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (Chicago, IL). Contributor to periodicals, including the Journal of Church and State.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jerome P. Baggett is a theologian and educator whose primary interests include the sociology of religion, social theory, and volunteerism and civic participation. In his Habitat for Humanity: Building Private Homes, Building Public Religion, Baggett uses the example of Habitat for Humanity to highlight a public organization based on Christian ethics that reflects the relationship between religion and civic duty. Considered one of the most successful models of a social service organization, Habitat for Humanity builds homes for the needy and has grown into a large construction company that has built more than 13,000 homes a year. The author critiques the organization based on data gathered from two years of research. "Baggett's organizing theme is to present the organization in its 'social ecology,'" explained Matthew P. Lawson in the American Journal of Sociology. "Specifically, he presents this successful voluntary organization as suspended in tension between state, market, and religious forces. He asks how it balances these tensions, what effects they have, and what shortcomings or pitfalls they present." Sociology of Religion contributor Corey J. Colyer called Habitat for Humanity a "well written, engaging book to all with an interest in the sociology of the voluntary sector and parachurch organizations." Social Forces critic Robin D. Perrin commented: "It is well written, engaging, and, at times, uplifting." Writing in the Library Journal, Eugene O. Bowser concluded that the author's "thoughtful analysis leaves one with optimism for the future."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Journal of Sociology, September, 2001, Matthew P. Lawson, review of Habitat for Humanity: Building Private Homes, Building Public Religion, p. 549.

Contemporary Sociology, January, 2002, Jerry Z. Park, review of Habitat for Humanity, p. 48.

Journal of the American Planning Association, autumn, 2001, Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews, review of Habitat for Humanity, p. 475.

Library Journal, November 15, 2000, Eugene O. Bowser, review of Habitat for Humanity, p. 73.

Social Forces, December, 2001, Robin D. Perrin, review of Habitat for Humanity, p. 745.

Sociology of Religion, fall, 2002, Corey J. Colyer, review of Habitat for Humanity, p. 389.

ONLINE

Graduate Theological Union Web site,http://www.gtu.edu/ (July 6, 2006), faculty profile of Baggett.

Jesuit School of Theology at Berkley Website,http://www.jstb.edu/ (July 6, 2006), faculty profile of Baggett.*