Familia: Espacio de referencia, sustento, afecto y seguridad

A concept arose in my research that centred on a sense of commitment or worth – which became the valuative thread. Further reading led to an understanding of social capital and the investment that people put into the church and the return they get back. A background of social capital is given in this section.

The use of the term ‘social capital’ was made popular by Robert Putnam who considered the features of social life – networks, norms, and trust – as enablers of bringing people together (Putnam, 1995). Putnam identifies people working together for a common goal as the power of social capital, and as such he develops his ideas from an individual perspective. There are two forms of this social capital, bridging and bonding. Bridging links communities of interest together, while bonding holds people within their communities. The 1995 paper largely centres round the civic interest of Americans, but the concept seems adaptable to analysis of the church.

Putnam notes that Social Capital theory basically affirms that the more we join with other people the more we trust them (Putnam, 1995), but it also notes that trusting people encourages joining with them. This carries with it an idea of competition, like centripetal and centrifugal forces. Putnam also notes that better educated people are more likely to be joiners and trusters, partly because of their better economic circumstances but more because of their educational upbringing (Putnam, 1995).

The religious economy involves human capital being invested into religious practice and the production of satisfaction. Parents may invest time and money into a church that allows their children to be taught in a Sunday school that instils values and teaching that they believe is

important. Equally, church participants invest their time and money into a spiritual endeavour that brings rewards, either in this world or the next. While a Marxist analysis of the church may focus on the institutional power of the clergy, Iannaccone (1990) is clear in describing the religious human capital of the participants in a church.

Robert Woodberry, writing to a Spiritual Capital Planning meeting, affirmed that Spiritual Capital is distinct from social or cultural capital in that it has a theological imperative and an affirmed

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difference (Woodberry, 2003). There is something more that happens in a church setting than would happen in a club (like Lions or Rotary). There is an acknowledgment that other factors are at play, but the unique nature of spirituality is evident.

Woodberry also reminds us that spiritual capital is a metaphor. Woodberry comments that the metaphor provides an explanation for religion being an investment and having a distinct end

(Woodberry, 2003). He also outlines the limitations of the metaphor – especially when there can be an implication that religious behaviour can be whittled down to a cold economic analysis.

Churches are reliant on their volunteer base to fulfil many of their organisational functions. Many churches will employ a minister and a lot will also employ some sort of administrator, but there are still many jobs to do. The variety of tasks undertaken is therefore often done by volunteers, many organised through the roster systems. In some busy churches the volunteer hours can be quite substantial, but it is seldom that people take time to reflect on how busy they are. A retired participant in this research commented, “I’m pretty much working in the church now” as he explained his voluntary activities, “the pay’s not great, but there’s a lot of satisfaction (AStA6).” Studies in work situations have shown that when an employee feels that the organisation is willing to value and support them, they will develop a greater psychological attachment to the organisation (Edwards & Peccei, 2010). An employee may well find that value in a wage increase, but this is not an option in a voluntary organisation.

As noted by Tyler and Blader (2003) there is a link between social comparison and an evaluation of loss or gain of resources that a person experiences in an organisation, either in absolute terms or in relation to others. When a person invests more resources into a group their sense of identity with that group increases (Tyler, & Blader, 2003). Studies affirm that the greater the involvement of people in the process of change (individual or organizational) the higher the commitment (Whitney, 1998).

One reason for a disinvestment in the church was the loss of a person’s local church building. Being further away from the church (having to travel longer) provides a discouragement for attendance due to cost and time, which has been named as distance decay (Leonard, 2006). This can be considered in a cost-benefit analysis, but only when the evaluation is more than monetary. The simple question of the individual is, therefore, “is it worthwhile for me to go to church over there?” The answer lies across the threads of identity, but also in an element of religious worth which is beyond the scope of this research – such as the standard of worship, the perception of spirituality or the quality of pastoral care.

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