Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 2: Gendered, Religious and Social Change

by Grace Davie, Ninna Edgardh, Anders Bäckström, Per Pettersson

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409481409
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	06/28/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Anders Bäckström, Grace Davie, Ninna Edgardh and Per Pettersson have worked together on a number of projects. These include: From State Church to Free Folk Church (a study of the constitutional changes in the Church of Sweden), Welfare and Religion in a European Perspective and Welfare and Values in Europe (an EU funded project). They are currently engaged in a new Linneaus Research Programme, entitled The Impact of Religion: Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy. This is based at Uppsala University and is funded by the Swedish Research Council. See impactofreligion.uu.se for more details.

Anders Bäckström, Grace Davie, Ninna Edgardh, Per Pettersson, Thomas Ekstrand.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; The WREP project: building bridges, Anders Bäckström, Grace Davie, Ninna Edgardh and Per Pettersson; Majority churches as agents of European welfare: a sociological approach, Per Pettersson; A gendered perspective on welfare and religion in Europe, Ninna Edgardh; Thinking theologically about welfare and religion, Thomas Ekstrand; Welfare and religion in Europe: themes, theories and tensions, Anders Bäckström and Grace Davie; Appendix; Index.