CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN BRAZILIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S.

Abstract

Using Brazilian communities in the Greater Boston area as the focus of the study, this chapter will address the following main questions: Are there differences between Protestant and Catholic churches in terms of their impact on the creation and development of social capital? And, if such differences exist, how do membership and involvement in the churches’ social networks affect ethnic entrepreneurship? Our preliminary conclusions suggest that there are various differences between the two churches in aspects that have the potential to impact social capital, and that the social networks built around and supported by the Brazilian Protestant churches in Massachusetts have been more effective for social capital formation. In consequence, these churches provide a “safer” environment, with higher levels of perceived solidarity and trust, and as such more favorable for ethnic entrepreneurship initiatives and social mobility. In order to lay the theoretical ground for addressing these questions, we will make a brief review of existing research on the association between social capital and ethnic entrepreneurship. We will also discuss the issue of church-membership as a source of social capital creation and growth, and its effects on ethnic business development.¹

Citation

Martes, A.C.B. and Rodriguez, C.L. (2003), "CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN BRAZILIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S.", Stiles, C.H. and Galbraith, C.S. (Ed.) Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Structure and Process (International Research in the Business Disciplines, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 171-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1074-7877(03)04008-X