Religious organisations within civil society
ly in the role they can play within the field of social care and welfare. In the Dutch situation, this increased role is obvious through the fact that religious organisations are invited to fulfill a social and political role to minimise social problems and to work for improvement of the social environment. This article is based on literature research and discusses the theological pros and cons for taking on such a social and/or political role. It will discuss the English theologian O’Donovan and the way he offers inspiration to religious organisations as they try to find an appropriate attitude within civil society. The focus will be on Christian churches, though the arguments brought forward are also partly valid for other religious organisations. Legislative changes in the Netherlands Since 2007, the Dutch government has made major changes in its social legislation; the establishment of the Social Support Act is an important part of this. The Act implies a huge shift within the whole system of social care and welfare. One of the most interesting changes is the fact that the national and local governments are no longer the primary responsible parties when people are in need. This responsibility is instead shifted towards people’s natural social network, such as family, friends, neighbours or church people. Only if this network is not able to help in solving the problem(s), the government will step in.
Balancing material prosperity with spiritual growth for effective Christian citizenship: The case of women of Full Gospel Mission Cameroon
It has generally been realized by churches in Cameroon that their role in the public sphere could no longer be narrowly defined by spiritual nourishment of their members. This is especially so in a local and national context of growing poverty and social exclusion, especially of women. This essay seeks to understand why and how women of the Full Gospel Mission Cameroon have recently mobilized local resources and resourcefulness to enhance their socioeconomic welfare. The contribution also explores why broader ideals of the gospel of prosperity embraced by Pentecostal churches in Cameroon have been appropriated and domesticated by women of the church through self-help socioeconomic activities. By getting involved in these activities, not only are women struggling to mitigate the effects of poverty, but also signals an implicit embrace of the ideals of liberation theology that recently emerged in Africa. Key words : Cameroon, Material Prosperity, Christian Identity, Spiritual Growth, Full Gospel Mission
Some Second Thoughts on Substantive versus Functional Definitions of Religion
Scientific approaches to religion have always alternated between functional and substantive definitions of the field-that is, between defining religion in terms of its social or psychological functions and in terms of its believed contents. Recently there has been a predominance of functional definitions, as exemplified by Bellah, Geertz, and Luckmann. Quite apart from the scientific utility of these definitions, they have come to serve an ideological use-as a quasiscientific legitimation of the avoidance of transcendence. This is in accord with a secularized Zeitgeist, but it threatens to lose sight of the very phenomenon of religion. To regain the phenomenon, what is required is a return to a substantive definition, an understanding of religion "from within." Schutz's analysis of "multiple realities" in human experience may serve as a useful starting point for this.