Trusting that of God in Everyone: Three Examples of Quaker-Based Social Service in Disadvantaged Communities

Abstract

This article explores the concept of social capital through case studies of three Quaker based social service organizations engaged in work in disadvantaged communities. Social capital represents relationships among members of a community built on shared understandings, behaviors, and patterns of trust. Accessing the social capital resources of a community often depends on exhibiting the cultural capital of network members. The article illustrates two points: (a) successfully mobilizing the social capital of a religious body depends on the ability of religious-based organizations to maintain both network relations and appropriate cultural capital behaviors expected by members of the founding religion, and (b) sharing social capital can take several forms. Organizations can use religious-based resources to serve outsiders without expanding boundaries to include the communities served, to expand social capital by enculturating newcomers into their practices, or to change the cultural cues considered appropriate to access the social resources of the religious organization.