Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe

This book considers the changing nature of both religion and welfare in Europe. It is the second of two volumes. Together they examine the function of majority churches as agents of social welfare in eight European societies (Sweden, Finland, Norway, England, Germany, France, Italy and Greece). Volume 2 explores the connections between religion and welfare from three perspectives: sociology, gender and theology. The authors ask new questions about the religious and the secular and the implications of each for the process known as secularization. Looking carefully at the gendered nature of care, they ask why women predominate so noticeably in both religion and welfare at least in the delivery of service. With regard to theological discourse, they explore the ways in which religious belief operates as an independent variable in the construction of welfare systems? The issues raised in this book are of immediate topical importance: they include the increased visibility of religion in the public sphere, the anxieties of European populations about the welfare state and the centrality of gender to both questions. The policy implications are huge.