Wie religiös ist die Wohlfahrtspflege?

摘要

Eventhough the history of the German welfare state cannot be told without the reference to religious belief systems (see also Sachße and Tennstedt, Geschichte der Armenfürsorge in Deutschland. Band 2: Fürsorge und Wohlfahrtspflege, 1988) – first and foremost to the history of Christian poor relief – and even though social services are being provided by a large number of religious agencies until today, there is hardly research to be found in this field. This article aims at giving insight into an ongoing research programme, which focuses on the representation of religious belief systems in the paths of regional welfare production. The article begins by outlining the main empirical fundaments of the research programme. Carrying on, first results are being discussed: The special position of Christian-faith based social service providers in the regional welfare production is being characterized, in order to assume a wide non-involvement of other religious communities. In this field, upheavals and opening processes – as well as further indications regarding the changing religious landscape – are being described, as they can be found in the empirical material.