Cultured responses: The production of social capital in faith based organizations

Abstract

The theoretical concept of ‘social capital’ has been increasingly invoked in connection to religion by academics, policy-makers, charities and faith based organizations (FBOs). Drawing on the popularization of the term by Robert Putnam, many in these groups have hailed the religious as one of the most virulent generators of social capital in today’s societies. In this article, the authors examine this claim through ethnographic material relating to Faithworks, a national ‘movement’ of Christians who provide welfare services within their communities. The authors claim that to apply the term ‘social capital’ in a meaningful sociological manner to FBOs requires a return to Bourdieu’s use of the term and a refusal to extricate it from the practices in which it is enmeshed.