Theology Mediating Social Capital: Ordinary Theology, Motivation and Relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-103
Author(s):  
Michael Smith

The concept of social capital and its use as a sociological tool has received considerable attention and continues to provide insights into various aspects of community life. Social capital offers a means to study beneficial and detrimental aspects of relationships away from economic or rationalist reduction. Although social capital and religious affiliation has seen significant attention in the literature, there has been little research into the relationship between theology and social capital. In this article, theology and social capital is explored through a qualitative ethnographic study of an Australian faith-based organisation. It is argued that ordinary theology, defined as the beliefs found in the language of believers without scholarly religious education (Astley 2002) mediates social capital. The ordinary theology of the volunteers, which I callaction-driven theologywas found to mediate bridging social capital with refugees through developing theologically significant relationships.

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Maria Ledstam

This article engages with how religion and economy relate to each other in faith-based businesses. It also elaborates on a recurrent idea in theological literature that reflections on different visions of time can advance theological analyses of the relationship between Christianity and capitalism. More specifically, this article brings results from an ethnographic study of two faith-based businesses into conversation with the ethicist Luke Bretherton’s presentation of different understandings of the relationship between Christianity and capitalism. Using Theodore Schatzki’s theory of timespace, the article examines how time and space are constituted in two small faith-based businesses that are part of the two networks Business as Mission (evangelical) and Economy of Communion (catholic) and how the different timespaces affect the religious-economic configurations in the two cases and with what moral implications. The overall findings suggest that the timespace in the Catholic business was characterized by struggling caused by a tension between certain ideals on how religion and economy should relate to each other on the one hand and how the practice evolved on the other hand. Furthermore, the timespace in the evangelical business was characterized by confidence, caused by the business having a rather distinct and achievable goal when it came to how they wanted to be different and how religion should relate to economy. There are, however, nuances and important resemblances between the cases that cannot be explained by the businesses’ confessional and theological affiliations. Rather, there seems to be something about the phenomenon of tension-filled and confident faith-based businesses that causes a drive in the practices towards the common good. After mapping the results of the empirical study, I discuss some contributions that I argue this study brings to Bretherton’s presentation of the relationship between Christianity and capitalism.


Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Edward Polson ◽  
Rachel Gillespie

The growing diversity of U.S. communities has led scholars to explore how racial/ethnic diversity effects social capital, civic engagement, and social trust. Less is known about the relationship between diversity and the work of community-based organizations (CBOs). In this study, we examine how the racial/ethnic composition of one ubiquitous type of CBO, religious congregations, is related to measures of organizational bridging social capital. Analyzing data collected through a census of congregations in one Midwestern county, we explore the relationship between racial/ethnic diversity and the bridging activity of religious congregations. We find that multiracial congregations are more likely to be involved with externally focused service programs, tend to support a larger number of programs, and report more interorganizational collaborators than other congregations. Our findings suggest that multiracial congregations can provide a valuable resource for increasingly diverse communities and civil society.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 760-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Rubin

This article analyses the relationship between vulnerable households and local authorities during floods using the concept of linking social capital. The analysis combines a narrow operationalisation that measures the stock of linking social capital in vulnerable communities, with a broader operationalisation that seeks to address the nature of linking social capital. The empirical data, collected across four provinces in Central and North Vietnam, suggests that while a substantial stock of social linking capital exists in the vulnerable communities concerned, the nature of the relationship between the communities and local authorities during floods is characterised by top-down linkages and limited community autonomy. These linkages appear to be susceptible to social inertia during times of stress. They also undermine the development and reproduction of strong bonding and bridging social capital.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-46
Author(s):  
Taane La Ola ◽  
Nur Isiyana Wianti ◽  
Muslim Tadjuddah

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the differences in the strength of social capital that is bonding and bridging two community groups, namely land-dwellers and Sama Bajo boat-dwellers in three islands in Wakatobi Marine National Park. This study used a post-positivistic research paradigm, and the primary data were collected by using a questionnaire to 240 respondents who represented the group of land-dwellers and Sama Bajo boat-dwellers on the islands of Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, and Tomia. This research was also supported by qualitative data through in-depth interviews from several informants and desk studies. The results showed that bridging social capital relations tend to be weak in the two forms of interactions between the Sama Bajo and the land-dwellers on Wangi-wangi Island and Kaledupa Island, while bridging social capital tend to be secured in Tomia Island. We found that the social context through the historical links in the past and identity played a role in the relationship of bridging social capital and bonding social capital in the three communities as an analytical unit of this research.  


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
LEE GREGORY

Abstract This paper explores the relationship between social capital and a community initiative known as timebanking. Its purpose is to offer a more critical account of the literature to date, which suggests timebanking generates improved health outcomes because it facilitates bridging social capital. Drawing on Cattell’s (2011) analysis of social networks the paper offers an alternative account. It suggests a more nuanced view of social networks shows the development of different networks by members, resulting from gendered forms of participation. The consequences of this is that whilst different network forms provide sources of pride and coping mechanisms for members, for women they inhabit more diverse networks which offer greater benefits whilst men may still experience some forms of exclusion and isolation through their participation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1115-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Campopiano ◽  
Tommaso Minola ◽  
Ruggero Sainaghi

Purpose This paper aims to address the research question of whether family social capital affects the degree of engagement in the entrepreneurial process in the case of hospitality and tourism (H&T) new ventures, and how this relates to environment-related motivations. In particular, drawing on a process-based approach of individuals’ engagement in entrepreneurship, this paper provides new insights into the relationship between the perception of support by the family through the provision of bonding and bridging social capital and the decision to engage in the entrepreneurial process. The main contribution consists in the role of “following an environmental mission” that emerges as a motivation mediating the relationship between family resource provision and entrepreneurial engagement in the H&T industry. Design/methodology/approach For this exploratory study, we rely on cross-sectional observations from 2,923 individuals gathered through the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students Survey, which collects information on career choices and preferences of university students around the globe. Given our focus on the early engagement process in entrepreneurship and the role of embeddedness in family structures, the use of a sample of young potential entrepreneurs such as students is particularly appropriate. Findings This study suggests that the family acts as a fundamental institution fostering entrepreneurship, both through the provision of bonding and bridging social capital, and the nurturing of attitudes toward the environment. The results indicate that, in the H&T industry, entrepreneurship can be a valuable means to pursue such attitude and is perceived as a way to proactively contribute to undertake responsible environmental activities. Research limitations/implications The study provides some implications for researchers, educators and policymakers interested in fostering entrepreneurial initiatives in the field, considering the role of a social-oriented mission as a vehicle to encourage profit-oriented entrepreneurial initiatives, and the importance of the family as a resource provider that fosters entrepreneurial engagement. The paper also discusses the strengths and limitations of this unique and broad cross-national sample. Originality/value Becoming entrepreneurs is depicted as climbing an entrepreneurial “ladder”, whereby each individual’s engagement along this process depends on a number of antecedents. Family bridging and bonding social capital, as well as following an environmental mission, emerge as important factors in the H&T industry, thus extending previous literature on the distinctiveness of this industry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranni Zhang ◽  
Yuxin Zheng ◽  
Ze Chen ◽  
Bin Li ◽  
Songping Yang

The theories of social capital and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale were used to measure the campus life satisfaction of college students, this paper made an empirical analysis on the WeChat media use of 1000 college students from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and mainland China (M=18.81 years old, SD=0.96) of a University in Guangdong province, and discussed the relationship among college students' social media use intensity, campus life satisfaction and social capital. The study found that there was a significant positive correlation between WeChat use intensity of college students and social capital, that the intensity of WeChat use had a direct effect on college students' satisfaction with campus life, and that self-esteem had a moderating effect between WeChat use intensity and social capital.


2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Sias ◽  
Kaylin L. Duncan

This study examined links between employee interaction with their organization’s official Facebook page, social capital, and employee identification with the organization. Results indicate employee interaction with their company’s Facebook page was positively related to organizational identification and bridging and bonding social capital. Moreover, the relationship between interaction with the company Facebook page and identification was partially mediated by bridging social capital outcomes. Overall, results suggest the company Facebook page is an important communicative bridge between the employee and the larger organization, enhancing the employee-organization relationship. Results contribute to our understanding of social media and organizational identification, as well as our understanding of social capital associated with social media use in organizational settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui-hua Xie ◽  
Lin-ping Wang ◽  
Bey-fen Lee

Social capital, which is derived from psychological research, has an important value in the construction of network relationships in enterprises. It influences the direction and tendency of network connections in start-up enterprises and has gradually become an important factor in the study of entrepreneurship by scholars. However, the relationship between this and the effectiveness of innovation is unclear. In this study, the social capital is divided into bonding social capital and bridging social capital, and specific data of agricultural entrepreneurs are collected through questionnaire surveys. The results show that both bonding and bridging social capital have a significant positive effect on agricultural entrepreneurship performance. The entrepreneurial capacity of agricultural entrepreneurs regulates the relationship between social capital and creative performance. In the relationship between integrated social capital and creative performance, operational competency plays a positive role and opportunity recognition plays a negative role. On the other hand, in the relationship between bridging social capital and creative performance, the opportunity recognition plays a positive role and the operational competency plays a negative role. Finally, based on the above findings, this study proposes theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for follow-up research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.N. Tatarko

The article presents the study of the relationship of social capital of migrants from the Asian former USSR republics with their acculturation strategies and their socio-cultural adaptation. Based on the wide literature review, we suggested that two types of individual social capital of migrants (“bridging” and “bonding”), depending on the combination of their levels (high-low), may lead to the preference of one of the four acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation, marginalization) and further contribute to or hinder socio-cultural adaptation. This study demonstrated that these two types of individual social capital (“bridging” and “bonding”) associated with three of the four acculturation strategies. In addition, the “bridging” social capital has an indirect positive effect on socio-cultural adaptation in which the mediator is the integration strategy. The “bonding” social capital has not demonstrated a statistically significant indirect effect on socio-cultural adaptation of migrants from the Asian former USSR republics.


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