Religious Doctrines and Poor Relief: A Different Causal Pathway

摘要: The contributions to this volume make a comprehensive argument about how religion has helped shape the Western welfare state, aiming supersede an older, fragmentary line of reasoning that focused on effects Catholic doctrine social policy via influence Christian Democratic parties. This chapter adds Manow's and van Kersbergen's (Chapter 1, volume) account state regimes as formulas political compromise between different electoral societal groups by presenting evidence for pathway may have generated consensus affected emergence states – through institutionalization religious doctrines into countries' poor relief systems, secularization these institutions. Comparing shaped in Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist/Reformed Protestant countries, looks at early modern ideas institutions poverty Europe. perspective is compatible with, complements, actor-and cleavage-centered advanced other volume. Religion also works its way politics shaping country's tradition, religiously rooted become part accepted spectrum plausible options. As result, ‘indirect’ channel factor remain virtually unnoticed, impact be hard detect. Still, chapter, I show domain there exist important institutional continuities systematic differences countries are driven institutionalized (and secularized) principles Calvinist doctrines.