THE THIRD SECTOR AND THE WELFARE STATE Session Title Welfare Models in Transition the Impact of Religion The Impact of Religion research programme is a 10 year interdisciplinary research programme based at Uppsala University, Sweden which studies the place of religion in society in the light of complex economic, social, political, legal and cultural transformations taking place in Sweden and the Nordic countries. Within this programme one of six major themes for research is Welfare Models Organisations and Values. This Panel presents some results from ongoing research within and in connection to this theme in the Impact programme. European welfare models are under increasing strain. The reasons for this are closely related to social and religious shifts, including changes in demography, gender roles and patterns of family life, as well as international migration, deregulation and the increasing influence of European and worldwide markets. Research in the theme investigates not only changes in the welfare model in terms of physical care and financial provision, but also the relevant value basis and changes in the broader social contract. Research analyses ongoing changes in public welfare provision in the North of Europe and Europe in general by building specialist competence at the intersection of religion, welfare and law. The interdisciplinary collaboration within the theme has also been important in revealing new questions of relevance to the research field. These include issues of the role of faith-based organisations as actors in the welfare sphere and questions of how values are negotiated and how the role of religion can be understood in relation to various welfare agents. The reference point for the studies is the Nordic welfare model, with its combination of homogeneity, Protestantism and a strong welfare state combined with a progressive family legislation, which emphasizes the autonomy of the individual. Some studies focus on the Swedish and Nordic societies, while others undertake international comparisons. Religion as an historic and cultural factor is compared with new roles for religion in both public and private life. Focusing not least on the roles which faith based organisations play in a third sector in transition. The papers presented here are examples of ongoing research undertaking international comparisons. The first two present results from an international project comparing the roles played by faith-based organisations in working with marginalised young people in the Nordic countries and South Africa. Results from field work are analysed with a focus on social cohesion and network theory. The third discusses theoretical and conceptual understandings of the new visibility of religion through an assessment of a number of examples from the Nordic-Baltic region of the governance of religion both when faith-based organisations are involved in the welfare sphere and their roles following more dramatic events. The fourth paper discusses the notion of churches as welfare organisations within the third sector through a comparison and assessment of the current situation in England and Sweden. Participants Religious Communities as resource networks for young people in flight A Case Study of the Oslo suburb Søndre Nordstrand
Title () Religious Communities as resource networks for young people in flight A Case Study of the Oslo suburb Søndre Nordstrand Annette Leis-Peters, annette.leis-peters@diakonhjemmet.no; Diakonhjemmet University College (Presenter) Over the past few years, religious communities have received more and more attention as part of and contributors to civil society (Nordin 2014; Baumann 2014; Nagel 2015). Sociologists of religion have underlined the bridging social capital that religious communities can contribute with (Wuthnow 2002; Borell & Gerdner 2013; Pickel 2014). The proposed paper studies the contribution of religious communities in a concrete field of welfare work: resources and activities for young people at the margins. The Norwegian case study of an Oslo city district in the South-East of the center with a high percentage of both young people and inhabitants in general with migrant backgrounds is part of the South-African-Nordic research project Youth at the margins. A comparative study of the contribution of faith-based organizations to social cohesion in South Africa and Nordic Europe (2013-2016). The case study uses document analysis, participating observation and qualitative individual and focus group interviews with young people and representatives of the religious communities, of other local civil society organizations, of public authorities and of other social stakeholders in the suburb in order to generate new knowledge with regard to the three main aims of the project. These are (1) to study the nature and extent to which faith-based organisations (FBOs) contribute to strengthening or weakening social cohesion in the way they relate to marginalised youth at the local level in South African and Nordic European society, (2) to compare the function of FBOs and religion for young marginalised people, between South Africa, Finland, Sweden and Norway, (3) to fill the gap of knowledge regarding FBOs relationship to and involvement with marginalised youth in their every-day living environments. The Norwegian study represents the case of a Nordic multicultural city environment. It uses the network theory model that the political scientist Alexander-Kenneth Nagel has applied to religious migrant communities in Germany. The model makes a distinction between between long-term and short-term co-operations and between earmarked and value-based co-operations. In addition, Nagel introduces internal factors of influence such as theological self-understanding, migration history, social structure and demography of the community and external factors such as legal framework, incentives, organisation and public discourse. (Nagel 2015). The case study points to a lack of communication and co-operation between religious communities and the other local actors when it comes to young people in general and young people at the margins in particular. The network model will identify areas of successful respectively failed communication/cooperation and possible resources for young people. The contribution of religious organisations to social cohesion: the case of youth work in a Norwegian city district Title ()
The contribution of religious organisations to social cohesion: the case of youth work in a Norwegian city district Olav Helge Angell, angell@diakonhjemmet.no; Diakonhjemmet University College (Presenter) The purpose of the paper is to analyse how religious actors in a Norwegian city district contribute to social cohesion at the local level through its work, in particular work to include young people in a transitory and possibly difficult phase in life, between or outside school and work. How are the relations between the young people and religious or faith-based organisations? What significance do such organisations have in the young people s lives? How do faith-based organisations relate to marginalised young people? Data for the paper were collected through interviews of key persons in the organisations as well as young people in the target group. In the social science tradition social cohesion is often analysed in terms of social integration, stability and disintegration. The problem for research is that the approach to social cohesion is rather abstract, with few attempts at defining and operationalising the concept, which make empirical investigations difficult, and also to establish possible correlations between level of social cohesion and other socio-economic aspects of a society. In our work we have chosen an approach to social cohesion based on identification of constituent elements following Chan et al. (2006) in defining social cohesion as a state of affairs concerning both the vertical and the horizontal interactions among members of society as characterized by a set of attitudes and norms that includes trust, a sense of belonging and the willingness to participate and help, as well as their behavioural manifestations (Chan et al. 2006: 290). But for our purposes, we use a slightly modified definition, adding normative, subjective components related to tolerance and diversity. Thus, by our definition a high level of social cohesion is characterised by the following conditions fulfilled by persons or individuals in the population or the social system we address: 1) people trust, help and cooperate with each other, 2) people tolerate and respect others, different from themselves, 3) people share a sense of belonging to or identity with the social system in question, and 4) people manifest these values, attitudes and feelings in the way they behave. In our research we have conceived of and analysed social cohesion at three levels, the neighbourhood, the city and the national or societal level. It means that we use a basically urban perspective as our point of departure. The three levels are selected because of their general theoretical and policy relevance in research. The paper analyses if locally based identities, networks and cooperation are still relevant and important to young people, and if so, how religious organisations and FBOs contribute to strengthening or weakening such aspects of social life. We also analyse how the same type of social actors, by intent or consequences contribute to social cohesion at the other two levels of society.
Third sector organizations and the governance of religious diversity Title () Third sector organizations and the governance of religious diversity Karin Borevi, karin.borevi@sh.se; Södertörn University (Presenter) This paper asks when and why third sector organizations of minority religions (sometimes understood as immigrant religions ) are involved in state efforts to manage and govern religious diversity. In particular, the aim is to discuss whether we can find different patterns of the involvement of such organizations depending on the type of event the governance processes relate to. What difference does it make, if any, if an initiative to engage an organization is related to dramatic and urgent events, e.g. terror attacks, or to a less emergency type of fulfillment of long term promotion of democracy, gender equality, cultural activities etc.? In response to dramatic events such as the terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen in early 2015 or attacks against synagogues, mosques and Jewish cemeteries minority religion communities and leaders are encouraged and expected to take active roles e.g. in working for the prevention of religious radicalism or in acting as consultants and interlocutors in contact with government authorities. A new presence and visibility in the public sphere of various religious groups can also be noticed in less violent and dramatic ways, for instance via involvement of faith-based communities and associations in welfare state provision or in various forms of democracy promoting activities. The examples mentioned above can be taken to illustrate a new visibility of religion, which some commentators see as a larger return of the religion in the political sphere (Antes 2003; Berger 1999; Thomas 2005; Casanova 1994) and others as reflecting a general governance trend where authorities increasingly involve non state actors to cooperate e.g. in the provision of welfare and other public goods (e.g. Beckford 2010; Martikainen 2014). This paper concentrates on the latter position and suggests a research strategy to assess arguments put forward in the literature, by governance scholars and their critics. In short, the paper argues that an assessment of the alleged emergence of new actors, arenas and modes of governance in the field of state religion relations requires that we also examine path dependent dynamics and institutions in the relevant national and local settings. In the paper, the theoretical and conceptual discussion is illustrated with empirical examples and preliminary findings from four countries in the Baltic-Nordic region: Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Estonia, cases which display interesting similarities and variations as regards both historical approaches to the management of religion (primarily in terms of church-state relations) and in the governance of social and cultural diversity (i.e. policies on nationality, citizenship and immigration). Solving society s problems? A comparision of the Church as a voluntary welfare organisation in England and Sweden.
Title () Solving society s problems? A comparision of the Church as a voluntary welfare organisation in England and Sweden. Martha Middlemiss LeMon, martha.middlemiss@crs.uu.se; Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre (Presenter) It is not new to say that voluntary work (both formal and informal) is strong in Sweden even in the welfare sector. Researchers such as Eva Jeppsson Grassman and Lars Svedberg (Jeppsson Grassman and Svedberg 2007) have long stressed this. Despite this, however, the image of the situation in Sweden in the minds of many remains one of a strong welfare state with little room for voluntary work. The perception of the church also remains one where a role for volunteers is not self-evident. Despite the fact that the Church can arguably be seen as the largest organization in Swedish civil society. Considerable changes are however ongoing both within the welfare system and the Church s role in society. The welfare system has moved away from the strict social democratic model as sketched by researchers such as Esping-Andersen (1990). At the same time the Church is facing declining membership figures. Both of these not inconsiderable shifts have happened gradually so have not always received the attention they deserve as potentially crucial elements in a change in the Swedish social contract (Wijkström 2015). They have however led politicians and policy makers to look towards the UK for inspiration. The liberal welfare model as it is to be found in the UK is held up as an example of a model where volunteers and voluntary organizations have always had a role to play as an integral part of the welfare system, and from which it is hoped that Sweden can learn. Within Church circles the experience of the Church of England as an established national church which has always survived on minimal financial resources is also brought forward as an example of how core activities can be financed and run through the work of volunteers. In both cases the UK situation tends to be seen in instrumental terms. As a solution which could be imported into the Swedish context to solve problems. This paper critically discusses these issues through an assessment of new research in the field, not least quantitative studies and statistical material that can throw new light on the issues. It presents the role of volunteers and voluntary organizations in the UK today within the British liberal welfare model, before focusing on the Church s role as a voluntary welfare organization and the role of volunteers in and for the church. The research findings presented on the British case are then analysed in a comparison with the Swedish context and current data available. The paper concludes by discussing to what extent the UK findings are of interest in a Swedish context, where are the similarities and differences, where are there still significant gaps in knowledge and what new perspectives could be helpful in addressing these and finally what pertinent lessons for the Swedish context can be drawn from this comparison?