The contributions in this volume enter the debate about the way in which the provision of poor
relief can be influenced by its national confessional context. They bring new perspectives to
the understanding of theological aspects of Lutheranism such as the connection between
justification by faith alone and care for the poor and work and work ethics. The articles also
analyse the implementation of social responsibility of the authority towards different
categories of poor ('deserving' and 'undeserving') local administration and centralization of
poor relief through connections of public and private sources of funding and collaboration
between state church and civil society through different public and private aspects of poor
relief. In this way the various contributions combine to demonstrate new ways in the study of
the connection between confessional specifics and historical developments through detailed
knowledge of theology supported by concrete historical case studies.
