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A European Perspective on Religion and Welfare: Contrasts and Commonalities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2012

Grace Davie
Grace Davie*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Philosophy, University of Exeter E-Mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article places the British material on religion and social policy in a comparative perspective. In order to do so, it introduces a recently completed project on welfare and religion in eight European societies, entitled ‘Welfare and Religion in a European Perspective’. Theoretically it draws on the work of two key thinkers: Gøsta Esping-Andersen and David Martin. The third section elaborates the argument: all West European societies are faced with the same dilemmas regarding the provision of welfare and all of them are considering alternatives to the state for the effective delivery of services. These alternatives include the churches.

Keywords

ReligionwelfareEuropesecularisationsociology of religion
Type
Themed Section on Social Policy and Religion in Contemporary Britain
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , October 2012 , pp. 589 - 599
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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