The effect of social capital on organizational repertoires of American Protestant missions

Bibliographic Data

ID19001978
AuthorsJared Bok (0000-0002-0579-444X, University of Nevada, Reno, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume69
Issue1
Pages22-40
Publication date2021-12-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7686 • E-ISSN: 1461-7404
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00377686211053209
OpenAlexW4200328697
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited60

A religious organization’s choice of activities is shaped not only by theological goals but also the capital available to it. Prior research has shown how economic and religious capital influence Protestant missionary organizations’ repertoires of activism but has largely ignored the role of social capital. Using the most recent data on transnational American Protestant mission agencies, this study aims to fill this gap. Using a Bourdieuian field approach and multiple correspondence analysis, the study finds that linking and bonding social capital both shape whether an agency generalizes rather than specializes in specific ministry activities. Both bonding and bridging social capital, in turn, prompt a more other-worldly than this-worldly ministry orientation, but this is a pattern most characteristic of Evangelical agencies, suggesting an intersection between religious identity and organizational network size. The study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for interorganizational collaboration and resource use

Agency (philosophy) · Capital (architecture) · Capitalism · Christian ministry · Field (mathematics) · Identity (music) · Political science · Protestant work ethic · Protestantism · Religious organization · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Tools

Open DOI