Faith in Rural Communities How do rural churches build social capital

1
Faith in Rural Communities? How do rural
churches build social capital?

• Richard Farnell
• Professor of Neighbourhood Regeneration
• Coventry University

2
Faith in Rural Communities Contributions of
Social Capital to Community Vibrancy?

• Research funded by Defra, 2005-2006
• Undertaken by Coventry University in partnership
  with the Church of England and the Arthur Rank
  Centre
• Aims include
• To explore the contribution of faith communities
• To assess the significance of the contribution
• To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the
  contribution
• To identify good practice
• To make recommendations to government, voluntary
  and community sectors and faith communities.
• Methods and Progress

3
Rural Community Vibrancy

• What is it?
• Discuss!
• Think about it from all angles, including the
  theological!

4
Social Capital

• How valuable is it as an organising concept?
• Issues include
• Government are quite interested!
• The language of capital
• Assumes a conservative social order
• Remorselessly positive
• Stating the obvious relationships matter

5
Varieties of Social Capital

• Bonding enduring relationships between similar
  people
• Bridging connections between people who have
  less in common
• Linking exerting influence and accessing
  resources outside normal circles

6
Discussion

• How do rural churches build social capital?
• Answer in relation to
• Bonding
• Bridging
• Linking

7
Implications

• What recommendations about the rural churches
  contribution to community vibrancy would you like
  to make?
• Government and its agents
• Local authorities
• Voluntary and community sectors
• The churches themselves