We would like to conclude with a summary of the central themes of state/society/religion relations addressed by the contributions in this volume. We allude to the faith-based organisation (FBO) phenomenon as a notion or idea that has evoked a series of dilemmas but that also signifies a fascinating and still relatively under-explored area of research in Europe today. In the second section of this conclusion we discuss eight propositions that will potentially drive new research in European FBOs and the struggle against poverty, exclusion and injustice in the future.

Changing state/society/religion relations

In recent history there have been a series of key moments in which religious groups and faith-motivated individuals have played a prominent role in tackling issues of social welfare and justice at national as well as local levels. Prior to the 19th century in the UK, for example, it was generally held as axiomatic that charitable welfare was the domain of individuals and private corporations. The state was considered as neither an appropriate nor an efficient source of aid for those in poverty. It was during this century that Christian liberal philanthropists began to come to the fore, combining their desire to see people saved by a new relationship with Jesus Christ with a belief that such salvation had to be accompanied by changes to the impoverished and unjust conditions of everyday life.

Robert Whelan (1996) charts the impacts of this Christian charity at two scales. First, he notes the rapid rise of localised rudimentary welfare services run by Christian organisations and individuals for the socially excluded people of the day: shelters for homeless people, soup kitchens for the poor and needy, employment training for the unskilled, places of care for orphaned or abandoned children, and many other manifestations of Christian charity that emerged during this time. Second, he highlights the contribution of particular high-profile Christian philanthropists, who used their wealth and influence to improve the everyday material circumstances of poor and excluded people in an essential coalescence of religious faith and social welfare.