Christianity and the Future of Welfare

Religion and politics ought not mix, we are often told. But they have always done so, and sometimes with great success, notably in the development of welfare states in the early 20th century, when Christian churches and theologians were constructively, if sometimes critically, in supportive of such initiatives. Today, however, economic and demographic pressures have conspired to place the state under immense pressure, with calls to 'rethink' the welfare state becoming more common. Rethinking, however, demands that we ask some big questions: What is welfare for? What kind of good are we trying to achieve? What kind of being is it whose good we are trying to serve? In this study, Nick Spencer steers the welfare debate away from technocratic concerns. Drawing on the work of four major, twentieth-century theologians, he offers a fresh, concrete, and realistic vision for the vision of welfare at a time when it is badly needed.