Religion and Welfare in Europe

"This new volume brings a fresh perspective... and makes an impressive contribution to our knowledge in this important area." Theology

“This is a fascinating, complex, rich book rooted in deep research and providing an innovative and revealing new analysis in the intersection of welfare, women and minorities.” Religion, State & Society

"A fascinating volume exploring religion, gender, minorities and welfare in Europe, offering significant insights into the link between values, welfare and social change." Dr Stephanie Sinclair, The Open University

"This is a timely and authoritative text - fit for students and experts alike - which builds on the insights of the WaVE research to shed new light on gender issues and minority religious groups in Europe. The comparative perspective encompassing diverse national settings provides an important back-drop for analysing some of the key social welfare implications of an increasingly culturally diverse continent." Rana Jawad, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, University of Bath, UK

Lina Molokotos-Liederman is a Visiting Fellow at the Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre at Uppsala University, Sweden, and a Post-Doc Associate of the Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités (GSRL/CNRS), Paris. She holds a PhD in sociology of religion from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Paris.

Anders Bäckström is Professor Emeritus in Sociology of Religion at Uppsala University. He established both the Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre and The Impact of Religion programme.

Grace Davie is Professor Emeritus in Sociology at the University of Exeter, UK and senior adviser to The Impact of Religion programme.

Introduction ~ Anders Bäckström

Part one: Thinking methodologically: approaches to research and practice;

Between contextuality and comparability: a dilemma in qualitative comparative case studies ~ Pål Repstad

Using case studies in religion, values and welfare research ~ Olav Helge Angell and Lina Molokotos-Liederman

Social cohesion: from research to practice ~ Olav Helge Angell, Marjukka Laiho, Anne Birgitta Pessi and Siniša Zrinščak

Part two: Thinking regionally: key case studies in welfare and religion in Europe

The WaVE project as a record of religious and social transformations in northern Europe ~ Anders Bäckström

The intersections of state, family and Church in Italy and Greece ~ Margarita Markoviti and Lina Molokotos-Liederman

Religion, welfare and gender: the post-communist experience ~ Siniša Zrinščak

Part three: Gendered and minority perspectives

Understanding religious minority communities as civil society actors ~ Annette Leis-Peters

Striving to live the good life: the tension between self-fulfilment and family obligations for women in northern England ~ Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon

Religion as a resource or as a source of exclusion?: The case of Muslim women’s shelters ~ Pia Karlsson Minganti

The moral and gendered crisis of the Italian welfare system seen through the prism of migrant women’s reproductive health ~ Annalisa Frisina

Part four: Drawing the threads together

Welfare and values in Europe: insights drawn from a comparative cross-country analysis ~ Effie Fokas

Afterword ~ Grace Davie