1. Faith-Based Organizations and Social Welfare : Associational Life and Religion in Contemporary Western Europe
- Author
-
Paul Christopher Manuel, Miguel Glatzer, Paul Christopher Manuel, and Miguel Glatzer
- Subjects
- Public welfare--Europe, Faith-based human services--Europe, Religious institutions--Europe, Western, Social service--Europe, Public welfare--Europe, Western--Religious aspects
- Abstract
This volume examines the role and function of religious-based organizations in strengthening associational life in a representative sample of West European countries: newly democratized and long-established democracies, societies with and without a dominant religious tradition, and welfare states with different levels and types of state-provided social services. It asks how faith-based organizations, in a time of economic crisis, and with declining numbers of adherents, might contribute to the deepening of democracy. Throughout, the volume invites social scientists to consider the on-going role of faith-based organizations in Western European civil society, and investigates whether the concept of muted vibrancy aids our theoretical understanding.
- Published
- 2019