Faith as Social Capital: Religion and Community Development in Southern Asia

In: Policy sciences: integrating knowledge and practice to advance human dignity ; the journal of the Society of Policy Scientists, Band 33, Heft 3-4, S. 355-374

Abstract

Four religious associations are analyzed, focusing on how, as NGOs, their religious activities contribute to the creation of social capital. Two are Muslim groups in Indonesia & Pakistan and the other two are Buddhist movements in Thailand. All demonstrate different uses of social capital. The first Muslim group, the Nahdlatul Ulama (Revival of Islamic Scholars), tries to promote traditional Islam values based on human dignity. The other, the Jamaat-i-Islami (Gathering of Muslims), encourages obedience to an essentialized Islam. The first Buddhist group, Santi Asok (Peace without Suffering), seeks to build self-reliance, & the other, the Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya (Sri Lankan Movement for the Awakening of All through Donation of Labor), seeks enlightenment through recognition of a society's interconnectedness. Each religion demonstrates how faith becomes a form of social capital & potentially, an effective force for social reform. 56 References. R. Larsen