This study explores the role of religious service organizations in social welfare provision by examining the activities of six social service/action agencies of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia.

It compares Diocesan agency operations with a profile drawn from existing knowledge of secular nonprofits and finds similarities. In particular, these religious service providers evidence degrees of marketization and dependence upon public and private funds. An empirical portrait of the purposes, organization, funding, programs and scope of delivery, target populations, advocacy role, and influence of the bishop reveals that these agencies provide many different services to a limited number of recipients. Agency leaders argued strongly that their organizations are already functioning at their maximum capacity. Agency directors interviewed believe that their organizations cannot significantly increase their current service capacity and analysis of their funding bases supports their claims.

The study concludes with an analysis of the mediating role of these agencies in Virginia’s social welfare system. Two mediation theories, by Tocqueville (1840) and Berger and Neuhaus (1977) are tested. The Diocesan agencies are found to vary individually as mediating structures suggesting that religious organizations play diverse roles in social welfare provision in Virginia.