ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in preceding chapters of this book. The book reviews very briefly the eight case studies contained in Welfare and Religion in a European Perspective (WREP). It moves in a different direction that it begins albeit tentatively to place the findings in an innovative theoretical framework, one which finds its focus in the complex interrelationships between religion and welfare in the long term. The influence of religion on the different welfare systems have emerged in different parts of Europe and the relationships continue in the twenty-first century. Indeed, if the conclusions emerging from the WREP project are taken seriously, it implies a thorough rethinking of how people understand the place of religion in modern societies, including Europe. That in turn means looking again at the concepts and tools that are available to them when they undertake such analyses, whether of welfare or anything else.
