God and the Welfare State (Boston Review Books)
Book Description
In this thoughtful examination of faith and public policy, Lew Daly explores one of the most controversial social initiatives of recent decades. When the Bush administration launched its faith-based approach to combating poverty in 2001, critics immediately raised concerns about the separation of church and state. Rather than engaging in partisan debate, Daly takes a different approach, evaluating this initiative purely as a strategy for addressing poverty in America.
The author traces the intellectual foundations of faith-based social services back through centuries of religious thought, revealing how Catholic natural-law principles and 19th-century Dutch Calvinist perspectives on government-religion relationships evolved into contemporary policy. Daly uncovers the fascinating story of how a dedicated group of scholars, lawyers, and advocates worked alongside George W. Bush during his Texas governorship to transform these historical ideas into practical legislation.
While Daly maintains serious doubts about the initiative's effectiveness, arguing that it primarily benefits religious institutions rather than those in need, he acknowledges its significance as the first genuinely new anti-poverty strategy to emerge in thirty years. His analysis goes beyond critique to explore how a more authentic application of the underlying principles might actually succeed in addressing social problems.
This concise study offers readers interested in the intersection of spirituality and social justice a nuanced perspective on how religious values can inform public policy, while raising important questions about implementation and effectiveness.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Short (< 200 pages) (~4 hours)
📄 Length: 136 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Kerkgenootschappen
- ✓ Explore Hulpverlening
- ✓ Explore Armut
- ✓ Explore Church and social problems
- ✓ Discover service as spiritual practice
- ✓ Explore Verzorgingsstaat
- ✓ Explore Church work with the poor
- ✓ Explore Economic conditions
