Bridges over Troubled Water: The Role of Faith in Creating Social Capital
This article presents a comparative case study of two faith-based community partnerships created in answer to crisis situations involving food distribution to the needy. Theoretically grounded in social capital theory it describes how two faith-based organizations built bridges with other groups to create new social capital. In both cases the foundation supporting these bridges was faith, both institutional and personal; faith that reached beyond parochialism to embrace universal humanitarian objectives. It was this faith that informed the visionary leadership and trust necessary to create an active multi-faith, multicultural partnership that withstood both internal and external challenges. The types of communal bonds that were created, crossing race, religion and ethnicity are essential in multicultural societies.