Week 10
Volunteering, Faith-Based NGOs and Spiritual Capital
Volunteering is a widespread job done in various organizations in society. Despite the similarities in these NGOs, it is interesting how they differ in their nature, particularly those with a spiritual background. This series shall look into the special qualities of such faith-based NGOs when serving disadvantaged groups, providing insight on the role of spirituality in social service and the concept of spiritual capital.
READ AND THINK
ACTION SERIES
Volunteering and Spirituality
There are many different volunteer groups that devote to serving the community and people in need. However, in a case regarding volunteering in China, groups that have a spiritual or religious background often served longer than other non-spiritual groups. This video shall explain this phenomenon and provide insight into the relationship between faith and charity.
Spiritual Capital and Faith-based NGOs
Just like how we accumulate material capital in our capitalist society, some people engage in spiritual practices to gain “spiritual capital,” adding value to spiritual lives. On the other hand, there are many faith-based NGOs in our society, but they could differ drastically in their service targets, institutions, core values, etc. This video shall give you a glimpse of the concept of spiritual capital and the types of faith-based NGOs in society.
Spiritual Capital Case Studies
This video will dive into the third type of faith-based NGOs mentioned in the previous video, which are inspired by certain faiths but remain different from purely religious and secular groups. With service targets ranging from middle-aged women to junior youths and spiritual affiliations from Buddhism to the Baha’i Faith, the examples highlighted in this video all work to use spiritual means to serve different needy and neglected groups in society.
How to Enhance Spiritual Capital
The examples of spiritual NGOs discussed in previous videos have all generated spiritual capital for their service targets. Spiritual ideas empower both the groups’ ideals and the targeted persons by affirming the spiritual value of all individuals, making them ‘spiritually rich.’ Watch this video to understand more about the accumulation of spiritual capital and its benefits to groups in society.