Christianity and Social Service in Modern Britain

In this elegantly written study of shifting British values, Frank Prochaska examines the importance of Christianity as an inspiration for political and social behavior in the nineteenth century and the forces that undermined both religion and philanthropy in the twentieth. The waning of religion and the growth of government responsibility for social provision were closely intertwined. Prochaska shows how the creation of the modern British state undermined religious belief and customs...
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In this elegantly written study of shifting British values, Frank Prochaska examines the importance of Christianity as an inspiration for political and social behavior in the nineteenth century and the forces that undermined both religion and philanthropy in the twentieth. The waning of religion and the growth of government responsibility for social provision were closely intertwined. Prochaska shows how the creation of the modern British state undermined religious belief and customs of associational citizenship. In unraveling some of the complexities in the evolving relationship between voluntarism and the state, the book presents a challenging new interpretation of Christian decline and democratic traditions in Britain.