Elusive togetherness [[electronic resource] ] : church groups trying to bridge America's divisions / / Paul Lichterman

• Autore: Lichterman Paul
• Pubblicazione: Princeton, N.J., : Princeton University Press, c2005
• Edizione: Course Book
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (348 p.)
• Disciplina: 306.60973
• Soggetto topico: Religion and social problems - United States; Social action - United States; Voluntarism - United States; Associations, institutions, etc - United States; Small groups - Religious aspects
• Soggetto genere / forma: Electronic books.
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [303]-323) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: In search of the social spiral -- Studying the social spiral -- Networkers and volunteers reaching out -- Crying out : social critics -- Christ-like care : social servants -- A social spiral winds outward : partners -- Doing things with religion in local civic life -- Doing things together : lessons from religious community service groups -- Theory and evidence in a study of religious community service groups.
• Sommario/riassunto: Many scholars and citizens alike have counted on civic groups to create broad ties that bind society. Some hope that faith-based civic groups will spread their reach as government retreats. Yet few studies ask how, if at all, civic groups reach out to their wider community. Can religious groups--long central in civic America--create broad, empowering social ties in an unequal, diverse society? Over three years, Paul Lichterman studied nine liberal and conservative Protestant-based volunteering and advocacy projects in a mid-sized American city. He listened as these groups tried to create bridges with other community groups, social service agencies, and low-income people, just as the 1996 welfare reforms were taking effect. Counter to long-standing arguments, Lichterman discovered that powerful customs of interaction inside the groups often stunted external ties and even shaped religion's impact on the groups. Comparing groups, he found that successful bridges outward depend on group customs which invite reflective, critical discussion about a group's place amid surrounding groups and institutions. Combining insights from Alexis de Tocqueville, John Dewey, and Jane Addams with contemporary sociology, Elusive Togetherness addresses enduring questions about civic and religious life that elude the popular "social capital" concept. To create broad civic relationships, groups need more than the right religious values, political beliefs, or resources. They must learn new ways of being groups.
• Titolo autorizzato: Elusive togetherness
• ISBN: 1-283-38003-X; 9786613380036; 1-4008-4295-6
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910461814903321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II
• Serie: Princeton studies in cultural sociology.