ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a detailed review of the current literature, in order to provide a frame of reference and some conceptual tools for the case studies that follow. It aims to draw attention to the various welfare contexts within which the majority churches of each case study exist and act, and to present some key concepts pertinent to the welfare field. The chapter provides a frame of reference through which the country-specific patterns offer some tools for further understanding. It focuses on European welfare regime-types, their characteristics and the differences between them. The welfare state in transition discourse, not only concerns the financing of the welfare state, and degrees of coverage, but also its organization and the provision of services, both of which have seen important changes. The several western European countries have seen cuts in public expenditure or the enforcement of stricter priorities as a response to current pressures on the welfare system.
