While Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone (2000) highlighted the notion of volunteerism, little attention has been paid to religion's role in generating social capital - an ironic omission since religion constitutes the most common form of voluntary association in America today. Featuring essays by prominent social scientists, this is the first book-length, systematic examination of the relationship between religion and social capital and what effects religious social capital has on democratic life in the United States.
Preface and Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Corwin Smidt
2. Bowling Alone But Serving Together:
The Congregational Norm of Community Involvement
Ram A. Cnaan, Stephanie C. Boddie, and Gaynor I. Yancey
3. Religious Social Capital:
Its Nature, Social Location, and Limits
John A. Coleman, S. J.
4. Faith and Leadership in the Inner City:
How Social Capital Contributes to Democratic Renewal
Mark A. Warren
5. Does Religion Matter?:
Projecting Democratic Power into the Public Arena
Richard L. Wood
6. Religion and Volunteering in America
David E. Campbell and Steven J. Yonish
7. The Religious Basis of Charitable Giving in America:
A Social Capital Perspective
Roger J. Nemeth and Donald A. Luidens
8. Ties That Bind and Flourish:
Religion and Social Capital in African-American Politics and Society
Frederick Harris
9. Social Capital and Societal Vision:
A Study of Six Farm Communities in Iowa
Janel Curry
10. Religious Involvement, Social Capital, and Political Engagement:
A Comparison of the United States and Canada
Corwin Smidt, John Green, James Guth, and Lyman Kellstedt
11. The Language of God in the City of Man:
Religious Discourse and Public Politics in America
Rhys H. Williams
12. Can Religion Revitalize Civil Society?
An Institutional Perspective
Robert Wuthnow
13. Religion, Social Capital, and Democratic Life:
Concluding Thoughts
Corwin Smidt
Notes
References
About the Contributors
Index
