Moral Freighting and Civic Engagement: A UK Perspective on Putnam and Campbell's Theory of Religious-Based Social Action

This article tests the relevance and salience of Putnam and Campbell's concept of moral freighting, developed within a U.S. and largely Christian context, to the more secularized and religiously diverse context of the UK. Moral freighting suggests that individual citizens who are members of rel...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Baker, Christopher (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Oxford Univ. Press 2013
In: Sociology of religion
Year: 2013, Volume: 74, Issue: 3, Pages: 343-369
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:This article tests the relevance and salience of Putnam and Campbell's concept of moral freighting, developed within a U.S. and largely Christian context, to the more secularized and religiously diverse context of the UK. Moral freighting suggests that individual citizens who are members of religious groups are better neighbors and more civically active than their secular counterparts. The article maps Putnam and Campbell's arguments, locating them within the wider genealogy of sociological theory explaining connections between religious belonging and pro-social participation. It thickens and nuances Putnam and Campbell's definition of moral freighting with reference to recent UK-based qualitative research via means of Belonging, Becoming and Participation Grids (BBP). Three case studies (Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian) are extrapolated, before concluding with a brief appraisal of moral freighting as an adequate conceptual tool for locating the role of religious and spiritual groups in shaping the contribution of individual citizens to public life.
ISSN:1759-8818
Contains:Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srt013