Interdependence and competition between the religious and the secular: the welfare role of the Church in Croatia and Finland

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses the welfare role of the Church in Croatia and Finland focusing on the way majority churches co-operate with secular authorities in social welfare. The main question is how co-operation is conditioned by the history of both differentiation between Church and State and the continuing strong position of majority churches in both countries, in particular within the context of the restructuring of the welfare state and the increasing role of non-state actors. Based on a review of the literature and the results of empirical qualitative data from three regions in each country, the article provides insights into the co-operation—both formal and informal—and in general confirms a complex interaction between the religious and the secular, which challenges the view of the strict separation between the two spheres. In terms of theory, and besides theories of distinctive welfare models and the specific history of Church–State relations, the article relies on the religious–secular competition theory to explain the research results.