SPIRITUALITY, SOCIAL CAPITAL AND EMOTIONAL LABOUR IN A FAITH BASED ORGANISATION IN GEYLANG

Abstract

As posited by prominent scholar Robert Putnam, religion is an important source of social capital. This thesis examines how a Faith-Based Organization (FBO) in Geylang interacts with the Christian belief to accumulate high bonding social capital to achieve a two-pronged effect. Firstly, to convince the sex-workers to leave the industry. Secondly, to introduce their beneficiaries to the Christian faith with the eventual aim that they would accept it as their own. Nonetheless, the accumulation of bonding social capital produces an adverse effect of emotional dissonance, experienced by the volunteers and full-time staff (members) of the FBO. In essence, acquiring bonding social capital requires members to maintain a porous work-life divide and show compassion in the face of disrespect from their beneficiaries. Over time, members experience emotional dissonance when they are expected to express compassion to the beneficiaries even though they experience frustration or distress instead. To regulate this dissonance, deep acting - a form of emotional labour is performed. The Spiritual Work of praying and meditation on Scriptures is utilized as a social resource to modify the emotions of the members. This process facilitates the re-alignment to genuine compassion which enhances the bond between the beneficiaries and members of the FBO. Therefore, this thesis opines a need to understand the process of accumulating bonding social capital in a FBO, through the theory of emotional labour.