종교기반 시민사회단체의 복지활동과 시민사회의 발전: 종교 사회적 자본을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper aims at examining the characteristics of religion-based welfare civic associations(RWCA) and the development of civil society with a primary focus on social capital, and thereby reconsidering the significance of religious social welfare(RSW). It seems that there is general agreement on views that RSW requires an almost symbiotic relationship with civil society. RWCA, as its representative example, shows the characteristics prior to social service, different from general civil associations. The major difference, however, lies in religious social capital. Religion is generally regarded to serve as the key producer of social capital; it has a distinctive capacity to nourish social capital based upon trust among members sharing religious faith and close network of religious organizations. A meaningful measurement of social capital is civic association forging it through helping socialization of individuals, and so RWCA contributes to social capital formation by leading social service and civic engagement of people or organizations-be they religious or secular-beside its own welfare activities. Furthermore RWCA becomes vehicles for producing social capital by fostering self-help force of the disadvantaged who build community themselves. In this respect RSW means welfare activities mainly depending upon social capital achieved by social service and civic engagement of religious communities and other people or organizations, regardless of their religion, trusting and cooperating them. Above all it secures its own proper discipline by conducting holistic ministry beyond charitable giving and physical care. In addition it does not seem to be appropriate to extend the RSW to the grand discourse of 'realization of justice' in that RWCA join only civic movements related closely with its own aims. It is true that there appears recently the negative recognition of social capital only existing on the basis of interpersonal relations, but if, nevertheless, religious social capital can be expanded from religious community to outside world, its social achievement might surely be expected.