Book review: Faith and social capital after the debt crisis

The founding father of 'social capital', Pierre Bourdieu, said that treating the church as an economic enterprise would lead to uproar, disbelief and the laughter of the bishops. Yet, in the last couple of decades, policy-makers and social scientists have increasingly sought to capitalise on faith by asking whether it produces social capital. In the context of faith-based social action in communities, this book asks what becomes of faiths when they are seen as social capital? Roger McCormick notes this book is a stimulating read but finds its political slant leaves out a more substantial analysis of the social capital metaphor and its perceived threat to faith communities.