164 - Program Evaluation in Religious Domain: a systematic review of academic discussions around program evaluation in the field of religion

Abstract Information: 
Research and discussions around program evaluation have produced evaluation theories and approaches that help improve or determine the merit or worth of activities with goals to achieve. Besides, programs and initiatives in the religious domain are often evaluative and meet the criteria for evaluands. However, whether religious entities are sufficiently taking advantage of the existing knowledge in the evaluation community to improve their activities or inform better decision-making is unknown. This research aims to reveal where program evaluation stands within the activities of religious communities and identify the discussions around the characteristics of evaluations regarding their purpose, evaluand, and methods by examining the academic literature related to Religion. Sample articles were gathered from peer-reviewed journals in Religion according to the preset criteria, following a systematic review guideline, and reviewed for findings. The results revealed the trend of evaluation-related studies in the religious domain and found some emergence and an overall increase in academic activities around program evaluation. The findings indicate that evaluation is most prevalent in education programs. Additionally, the motivation to examine the outcome or impact of a program often drives an evaluation, and quantitative research methods are the most dominant approach used for program evaluations. The research concludes with the implications of the findings to the use of evaluations in religious communities and suggestions for further studies.