Sivov, Plamen (2008) The Church as an Agent of Community Development in Bulgaria. Studies in World Christianity, 14 (3). pp. 214-219. ISSN 1750-0230
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Religious groups traditionally have played a major role in shaping communities. In modern civil societies, religious beliefs are still among the key factors that bond people together to form communities, both large and small. In countries like the United States it is often emphasised by researchers that religious communities are the backbone of American civil society. Most of the modern social institutions' roots in many countries, such as hospitals, schools, retirement homes, can be traced back in the structures of the churches. The church is often regarded as an institution itself, and this attitude is frequently passed onto the social institutions that the church creates and maintains. In many countries the church has a special place among the state's institutional partners, as a key provider of a long range of social services. However, with the advancement of the welfare state, the continuing secularisation of modern societies and the further separation between church and state, the institutional role of the church decreases. The religious institution can be a full-fledged provider of certain social services at acceptable levels of quality, but all other things being equal, it is in a position to compete for state or public support with secular providers of similar services only within certain limits. These limits are exactly the communal dimensions of the church's approach to social problems. Therefore, the church may be of interest to the state and to the NGOs exclusively in its capacity as a distinct community, and not so much as an institution. Further in the text I will try to argue for this statement.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Mission theology/theory > Evangelism/Proclamation of Gospel B Mission theology/theory > Mission, partnership and cooperation B Mission theology/theory > Mission and Social responsibility C Types of Christian Ministry > Urban/Rural mission D World Christianity and Central Eastern Europe > Europe G Christian traditions/Denominations > Eastern Orthodox |
| Divisions: | Balkan countries Balkan countries > Bulgaria |
| Depositing User: | Speranca Tomin |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Sep 2021 13:25 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Sep 2021 13:25 |
| URI: | https://ceeamsprints.osims.org/id/eprint/2045 |
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