Change Agents: Alinskyian Organizing Among Religious Bodies, Volume 3: Ideology

Stephanie Block is a veteran journalist, author, and observer of the influence of radicalism in American religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, Protestant churches, and Jewish congregations. In 'Change Agents: Alinskyian Organizing Among Religious Bodies: Volume 1', Block provides the first installment in a four-part series that chronicles the history, theory and practice of American radicalism of the era following the Second World War in which Saul Alinsky, an atheist, wielded influence through his students such as Cesar Chavez and Hillary Clinton over some of the most turbulent decades of American history. From Volume 1, Block writes: "Saul Alinsky was educated at the University of Chicago, doing graduate work in criminology where he discovered a passion for organizing, first with the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) and later as an independent organizer. What made Alinsky’s organizing style unique was that it brought religious bodies into its embrace. His success in collaborating with clergy came from two sources: a hearty, pragmatic approach to problem solving and an idealism that is similar to Christianity in its concern for the poor. In other respects, however, Alinskyism and Christianity are diametrically opposed."