Early Childhood Education and Faith Based Welfare Providers

German family policies have been influenced by Christian norms and ideas from the beginning. Faith-based welfare providers are among the main providers for early childhood education and care (ECEC), yet due to a general neglect of extrafamilial childcare in line with the traditional male-breadwinner orientation of family policy in Western Germany only few children had access to a place. After the paradigmatic change in family policies in the early 2000s towards the dual earner model the need for more ECEC places has increased. This article explores trends in ECEC in German states and asks for the role of faith-based childcare provision: has their importance decreased due to processes of secularization and a growing importance of the federal state? Or did faith-based childcare providers expand their services like in other areas such as elderly care in spite of these trends? What is driving the developments and how can we explain differences between states? The paper uses official statistics and expert interviews to analyze the trends in ECEC since the mid-2000s and to explore the role played by faith-based welfare organizations and the different governance levels of ECEC.