Religion, Gender, and Social Welfare: Considerations Regarding Inclusion

Susan Crawford Sullivan

doi:10.17645/si.v7i2.2259

Abstract

There is increased interest in faith-based social service provision in recent years, both in the United States and across Europe. While faith-based organizations provide welcome and needed services, there are several potential problems of social inclusion which involve gender, including decreased availability of social services when faith-based organizations are expected to compensate for cuts in government spending, potential for religious discrimination in employment, and potential for religious discrimination against recipients.

Highlights

In recent years there has been increased interest in faithbased social service providers across the United States and Europe, including the Nordic states (Baker, 2012; Rommelspacher, 2017)
There are several issues which have arisen in the United States that can translate to Nordic countries: (1) If faith-based organizations are expected to compensate for cuts in government spending, there is a fundamental question of social inclusion— will all who need services receive them? (2) If faith-based social service providers can discriminate in employment, social exclusion of some applicants or employees will occur, and (3) Social exclusion arises when organizations can discriminate against potential recipients
Returning to the three issues posed at the beginning of this commentary, it is clear that while religiouslyaffiliated social service provision is an important part of social welfare, it is wise to be attentive to potential for social exclusion

Summary

Introduction

In recent years there has been increased interest in faithbased social service providers across the United States and Europe, including the Nordic states (Baker, 2012; Rommelspacher, 2017). There are several issues which have arisen in the United States that can translate to Nordic countries: (1) If faith-based organizations are expected to compensate for cuts in government spending, there is a fundamental question of social inclusion— will all who need services receive them?

Results

Conclusion