Considering the Contradictions of Religion and Orthodox Christianity as concomitantly endorsing strife and accord – a Social Capital Perspective

Abstract

This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing an discussion and a critique of the discourse of social capital as it relates to Christianity and in particular to an Orthodox stance. Religion is acknowledged as responsible for promoting factions in the world, as well as for the strife amongst the various religious groups. The New Testament is studied with the constituents of social capital – networks (groups), norms and trust – as a foundation for evaluating the ministries and teaching of Christianity with regards to the role thereof in promoting strife and unity and ultimately harmony amongst people. The ministry of Jesus Christ was distinctly opposed to the prevailing social capital in the then Jewish territories, as is the case in the epistles when speaking to the non-Jewish parishes. The prevailing normative principles were frequently censured, and the confrontational manner in which the established social groups were related to, aggravated by the entirely inclusive but absolutely exclusive standpoint, is deemed inexcusable and resulted in the execution of Christ and a number of his apostles and other followers. The threat to the trust amongst the Jewish citizens and also between the general population groups and religious leaders proved to be a major driving force in ongoing persecutions. Unity amongst the early Christians proved elusive and the absence of heterogeneity as a requirement for socially cohesive networks and groups served to explain this challenge. Diversity of ethnicity, language and culture impeded the spontaneous social associations. The epistles provide us with a rich account of the significance of diversity and the constant efforts towards unity and societal harmony. This is in concord with the Orthodox faith which is strongly in favour of acceptance of diversity and love for others. Social capital is an stimulating idea that has since biblical days become a focus for community advancement initiatives. The social capital perspective of the New Testament easily transcends into our reality of today and supports the relevance of Christian principles two thousand years later.