A Descriptive Study of Six Churches in the Lower Bronx With Emphasis on Their Educational and Recreational Facilities

In 1945 a detailed study was done of six churches in the lower Bronx with emphasis on their educational and recreational facilities. Now, almost twenty years later, an up-to-date look has been taken of the same area in order to present a comparative study and show what changes have come about in the six parishes and to note any differences or variations in the educational or recreational programs. The growth of juvenile delinquency has been regarded everywhere with dismay and it is conceded by all thinking persons generally and social workers in particular, that the breakdown of the home and the lack of religious training of youth are two of the factors largely responsible for this social ill. The moral training of her young members has always been a concern of the Roman Catholic Church and too, the general welfare of all her members is the Church’s interest. Thus, the Church is a potential factor against juvenile delinquency as well as all social ills. The influence of the Church however, in this respect may best be seen in the programs it offers in the educational and recreational order. These spheres of interest too, fit well within the scope of social service. The aim of social work to help people help themselves is closely connected here to the work of the Church which endeavors to bring forth the best that is in man and develop his character through education and then by means of her recreational program to refresh him for the serious business of living a Christian life