RELIGION AS SOCIAL CAPITAL: PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND EAST AFRICAN IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION IN FINLAND
RELIGION AS SOCIAL CAPITAL: PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND EAST AFRICAN IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION IN FINLAND

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the role of Protestant churches as institutional sites of socialcapital formation within East African immigrant communities in Finland.Drawing upon Putnam’s framework of bonding and bridging social capital andBourdieu’s conceptualization of capital conversion, this research investigateshow religious congregations function as multidimensional integration mechanisms.Through qualitative interviews with 30 East African immigrants, thestudy elucidates how faith-based institutions cultivate networks of trust, reciprocity,and mutual support that facilitate social integration. The findings revealthat Protestant churches operate as critical mediating institutions, providinginstrumental and expressive support encompassing language acquisitionprograms, cultural orientation, employment networking, and bureaucratic navigationassistance, effectively converting religious participation into tangiblesocial and economic capital. The analysis demonstrates how religious socialcapital functions as a compensatory mechanism for inadequate formal institutionalsupport while bridging cultural divides between immigrant communitiesand mainstream Finnish society. Moreover, shared Protestant identity fosterspan-ethnic solidarity among diverse East African groups, transcending conventionalethnic boundaries to establish cohesive support networks. The researchcontributes to theoretical understandings of religious institutions as enginesof immigrant integration within contemporary welfare states, challenging prevailingsecular paradigms of social cohesion in Nordic contexts.

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