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Measuring religious social capital: the scale properties of the Williams Religious Social Capital Index (WRSCI) among cathedral congregations

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Williams, Emyr. (2008) Measuring religious social capital: the scale properties of the Williams Religious Social Capital Index (WRSCI) among cathedral congregations. Journal of Beliefs and Values, Vol.29 (No.3). pp. 327-332. ISSN 1361-7672

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13617670802511103

Abstract

The theoretical construct of social capital remains contested in terms of conceptualisation and measurement. The present paper follows the convention of distinguishing between trust, bonding, bridging and linking social capital, to conceptualise how religious communities promote and develop social capital within a specifically religious cohort. Developing this construct of religious social capital further, this paper proposes a measure for use specifically among religious communities to assess individual-level social capital. The Williams Religious Social Capital Index (WRSCI) provides a unidimensional construct of religious social capital taking into consideration the four elements highlighted. A sample of 720 members of six cathedral congregations in England and Wales completed a battery of items concerning social capital. Factor analysis procedures produced a 12-item index of religious social capital. Reliability analyses demonstrated that this index achieved satisfactory levels of internal reliability consistency. Construct validity was supported by the clear association between frequency of attendance and levels of assessed religious social capital.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BT Doctrinal Theology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute of Education
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Social capital (Sociology) -- Religious aspects, Social capital (Sociology) -- Research, Cathedrals -- Great Britain, Christian sociology -- Great Britain
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Beliefs and Values
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	1361-7672
Date:	December 2008
Volume:	Vol.29
Number:	No.3
Number of Pages:	6
Page Range:	pp. 327-332
Identification Number:	10.1080/13617670802511103
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2982