The Church and Social Action: Steelworkers and Bishops in Youngstown.

What circumstances permit churches to organize for innovative social changer A recent example of a clergy-led social movement following an industrial crisis in Youngstown, Ohio is examined utilizing a resource mobilization perspective In this case the local community was mobilized against a predatory conglomerate, using resources from the federal government, the churches and Washington-based economic planners The movement was able effectively to neutralize possible sources of opposition within the community and within the constituent church organizations.
In this sense the movement failed, but the question posed in this paper is: How did such an organization arise and manage to sustain community support for such an unconventional end over an extended period of time? A related question might be phrased: Under what conditions do churches take an active part in promoting social change?
As much as any single factor, the Ecumenical Coalition is a legacy of the radicalism of the sixties. Without seasoned social activists in the church hierarchy who had prior personal contacts with each other and with experts outside the churches, it is unlikely that anything more than pious handwringing would have resulted from the mill shutdown.
At the same time, the issue around which the Coalition was formed seems particularly contemporary. The goal of the movement was defined in relatively pragmatic terms as a threat to the local community by outside forces. In this context "Save Our Valley" became a potent slogan.
Economic crises similar to Youngstown's are likely to recur periodically. Does this mean that the churches will attempt to play an active role in promoting economic change? They might, especially if other groups are not willing to take the initiative; in Youngstown, as the Steelworkers Union becomes more involved, the churches withdraw.
Finally, economic enterprises of the sort described here depend heavily upon support for a variety of Federal... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]