Serving the public or delivering public services? Religion and social welfare in the new British social policy landscape

Religion appears as a dormant actor in British social policy, yet since the early 1990s its role in public service provision has become more prominent. What can a religious perspective bring to our understanding of human wellbeing - especially as the idea of the Big Society opens up new normative landscapes? In response, this article outlines some policy and practice issues, namely that religious welfare provision: is key to a more historically accurate account of British social policy; challenges utilitarian notions of wellbeing; is a potentially good example of the Big Society; and is able to reconcile its secular public service provision role with its religious identity and mission to serve the public.