{"id":552,"date":"2025-10-01T23:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/?page_id=552"},"modified":"2025-10-06T00:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T00:19:46","slug":"tml3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/tml3\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can Churches\/Faith Communities Help?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places\/ 2 of 5<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Introduction and Definition <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Robert Putnam is an American political scientist most famous for his book Bowling Alone, which revealed a collapse in membership of civic organizations (including churches) in the U.S. since the mid-1960s Putnam popularized the term \u201csocial capital,\u201d which refers to societal value\/influence derived from strong bonds between individuals that can, in turn, help build strong networks between different civic groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAmericans are going to church less often than we did three or four decades ago, and the churches we go to are less engaged with the wider community. Trends in religious life reinforce rather than counterbalance the ominous plunge in social connectedness in the secular community.\u201d1<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Churches\/Faith Communities and \u201cSocial Capital\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Until the mid-20th century, churches and faith communities tended to be hubs of community activities and, therefore, had a higher degree of \u201csocial capital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n