Charity and Social Welfare

How churches in Northern Europe reinvented their role as providers of social relief. Charity is a word that fits well in the history of religion and churches, whereas the concept of social reform seems to belong more to the vocabulary of the modern welfare states. Christian charity found itself, during the long nineteenth century, within the maelstrom of social turmoil. In this context of social unrest, although charity managed to confirm its relevance, it was also subjected to fierce criticism, as well as to substitute state-run forms of social care and insurance. The history of the welfare states remained all too blind to religion. This fourth volume in the series ‘Dynamics of Religious Reform’ unravels how the churches in Britain and Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium shaped and adjusted their understanding of poverty. It reveals how they struggled with the ‘social question’ and often also with the modern nation states to which they belonged. Either in the periphery of public assistance or in a dynamic interplay with the state, political parties and society at large, the churches reinvented their tradition as providers of social relief.

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Contributors: Andreas Holzem (Universität Tübingen), Dáire Keogh (St Patrick’s College, Dublin City University), Frances Knight (The University of Nottingham), Nina Koefoed (Aarhus Universitet), Katharina Kunter (Germany), Bernhard Schneider (Universität Trier), Aud V. Tønnessen (Universitetet Oslo), Annelies van Heijst (Tilburg University), H.D. van Leeuwen and M.H.D. van Leeuwen (Universiteit Utrecht), Leen Van Molle (KU Leuven).

"Charity and Social Welfare" was edited by Leen Van Molle.

Leen Van Molle is full professor of social history and member of the research group MoSa (Modernity and Society, 1800-2000) at KU Leuven. Her research focuses on the history of Belgian and European social identities, social movements and social policy, and in particular the history of the rural world.

Yes, "Charity and Social Welfare" is part of the "Dynamics of Religious Reform" series. It's book 4 in the series.

This series examines processes of religious reform between 1780 and 1920 in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

Subseries of Kadoc Studies on Religion, Culture and Society

Publications in the series:

• Volume I: Political and Legal Perspectives
• Volume II: The Churches
• Volume III: Piety and Modernity
• Volume IV: Social Welfare

Editors-in-chief: Joris van Eijnatten and Nigel Yates †
Editorial Board: Jan de Maeyer, Joris van Eijnatten, Andreas Gestrich, Anders Jarlert, James Kennedy, Liselotte Malmgart, Peter Jan Margry, Keith Robbins, Nigel Yates †, Paula Yates

Comparing Religious Perspectives on Social Reform An Introduction Leen Van Molle
Bibliography
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland
Social Welfare and the Churches in England, Scotland and Wales Frances Knight
Social Welfare in Irish Perspective Dáire Keogh
Bibliography
The Low Countries
Social Questions and Catholic Answers Social Reform in Belgium, c. 1780-1920 Leen Van Molle
Church, State, and Citizen Charity in the Netherlands from the Dutch Republic to the Welfare State H.D. van Leeuwen and Marco H.D. van Leeuwen
Reforming Apart Together Dutch Health Care in the Maelstrom of Religious and Professional Rivalry Annelies van Heijst
Bibliography Germany
Poor and Sick Relief in Catholic Germany from the Enlightenment until the Revolution in 1848 Bernhard Schneider
Social Welfare in Catholic Germany, 1850-1920 Andreas Holzem
Diakonie (Welfare and Social Work) and Protestantism in Germany, c. 1780-1920 Katharina Kunter
Bibliography
The Nordic Countries
Social Responsibilities in the Protestant North Denmark and Sweden Nina Javette Koefoed
Christian Social Work in an Age of Crisis and Reform The Case of Norway Aud V. Tà¸nnessen
Bibliography
Index
Authors
Colophon

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Charity and Social Welfare" is 10.11116/9789461662286.