Religion und Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit in Europa

The question of the fundamental values of social policy is highly significant for the process of self-understanding in the European Union. The European welfare states were created from complex constellations of cooperation, conflict and transformation, in which in addition to the state and other secular participants religious communities were also involved. Nevertheless religion as a factor in research on the welfare state has up to now only been dealt with peripherally. This volume makes a contribution to closing this research gap. Focusing on a comparative analysis in case studies of thirteen European countries, the authors explore the religious and denominational influences on the development of the welfare state from the beginning of industrialization up to the present time.