Still Moral Authorities or Simply Charity Providers? Religious Welfare Organizations in the Implementation of Welfare Policies in Western and Eastern Europe

In spite of the process of secularization in European countries religious organizations are still of relevance in welfare politics. Due to the processes of decentralization and marketization in social policy, governments have identified religious organizations (again) as potential actors which may fill the gaps the state has left. At the same time, religious organizations themselves have been increasingly aware of their possible (renewed) role they and their values might be able to play in the sphere of public welfare. However, religious organization are confronted with the potential conflict between their wish to fulfil their welfare work in line with their moral values and the danger of being exploited by state representatives who perceive them first and foremost as charity providers on their behalf. Comparing six Eastern and Western European countries this paper examines the view of religious organizations on their role in the implementation of social policies and as providers of welfare services on behalf of the state, respectively. The project is based on a content analysis of documents published by Protestant and Catholic welfare organizations in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK. Furthermore, more than 15 semi-structured interviews have been conducted with representatives from religious welfare organizations in the six countries. The study shows that in countries where the separation between church and state (such as in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands) is rather strict, religious organizations tend to downplay their religious character in order to refute suspicions they might use their welfare work for missionary goals. In contrast, in countries with patterns of state-church cooperation (such as in Germany, Hungary, Poland and the UK) religious organizations frame their activities in welfare policy implementation more openly as being in line with their moral values.