Aid Under Protest?
This article deals with the involvement of churches in the Netherlands in material aid to the poor. It deals with the subject at three levels: the Dutch context in general, the churches, particularly the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and financial aid to the poor provided by local churches....
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2010]
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| In: |
Diaconia
Year: 2010, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-61 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article deals with the involvement of churches in the Netherlands in material aid to the poor. It deals with the subject at three levels: the Dutch context in general, the churches, particularly the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and financial aid to the poor provided by local churches. In the fifties and later on the churches' role in material aid diminished as a consequence of the improvement of living standards and the building up of the welfare state. However, as a consequence of social-economic developments and the restructuring of the welfare state churches were confronted with questions about how to deal with people who had got into financial problems after becoming dependent on benefits because of unemployment, disability, divorce, single motherhood etc. Data that are based on empirical research among local churches are given about the developments in the material aid provided by churches from 2002 on and a description of churches' involvement in foodbanks. Moreover the question on how the churches understand their responsibilities in this field is discussed. It is shown that churches promote the vision that material assistance provided by churches should be combined with protest because it is the task of the state to promote general welfare and to secure the basic needs of people in society. Advocacy and lobbying on behalf of the poor are essential tasks of churches. |
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| ISSN: | 2196-9027 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Diaconia
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.13109/diac.2010.1.1.47 |