Even though the policy impact of Catholicism has increasingly been acknowledged, existing scholarship lacks a coherent view on its changing influence over time and in different political contexts. In this book, Fabio Bolzonar investigates the influence of Catholicism on developments in French social protection from World War II to the mid-2010s. He discusses the factors that have favoured or inhibited it and explores the hybridization between Catholic values and secular principles in the social engagement of Catholic actors in secular France. By doing so, this multidisciplinary study integrates current scholarship, which has given limited attention to the changing patterns of Catholic involvement in the social policy domain over a long period of time, and the renewed influence of Catholic values in secularized societies. Catholic mobilization has relocated from the political to the civil society sphere, making voluntary organizations and social movements, rather than political parties, the main channels for defending Catholic values in secular France. Rather than marginalizing Catholicism, this process has opened up new opportunities for Catholic actors and values to play a significant role in society and politics. Bolzonar identifies two divergent scenarios that define Catholic social engagement in contemporary France: either the strengthening of new forms of institutional collaboration between Catholic-inspired philanthropic organizations and public administrations in the interest of socially vulnerable citizens, or the emergence of new ideological conflicts on gender- and sexuality-related issues.

Even though the policy impact of Catholicism has increasingly been acknowledged, existing scholarship lacks a coherent view on its changing influence over time and in different political contexts. In this book, Fabio Bolzonar investigates the influence of Catholicism on developments in French social protection from World War II to the mid-2010s. He discusses the factors that have favoured or inhibited it and explores the hybridization between Catholic values and secular principles in the social engagement of Catholic actors in secular France. By doing so, this multidisciplinary study integrates current scholarship, which has given limited attention to the changing patterns of Catholic involvement in the social policy domain over a long period of time, and the renewed influence of Catholic values in secularized societies. Catholic mobilization has relocated from the political to the civil society sphere, making voluntary organizations and social movements, rather than political parties, the main channels for defending Catholic values in secular France. Rather than marginalizing Catholicism, this process has opened up new opportunities for Catholic actors and values to play a significant role in society and politics. Bolzonar identifies two divergent scenarios that define Catholic social engagement in contemporary France: either the strengthening of new forms of institutional collaboration between Catholic-inspired philanthropic organizations and public administrations in the interest of socially vulnerable citizens, or the emergence of new ideological conflicts on gender- and sexuality-related issues.

Fabio Bolzonar holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and a part-time lecturer at Waseda University, as well as a scientific collaborator at the Centre d’Étude de la Vie Politique at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Preface PART I 1. Introduction Catholicism and the Welfare State: Beyond Christian Democracy Studying the Role of Catholicism in Social Policy Developments Outline of the Book 2. Catholicism and the Welfare State in a Reactionary Regime (1940-1944) Catholicism and Politics in Vichy France Social Policies during the Vichy Regime The Expansion of Social Protection The Reorganization of Public Hospitals An Authoritarian Corporatist Reform A Legacy for Post-war Reformers 3. Foundation and Consolidation of a Christian Democratic Welfare State (1944-1959) The Roots of Christian Democratic Social Reformism 5 Foundation and Development of a Christian Democratic Welfare State The New Institutional Organization of Social Security Family Policies Housing Policies A Christian Democratic Welfare State? 4. Catholicism in the Years of Gaullism and Mitterrandism (1959-1995) The Social Reforms of Gaullist and Right-wing Governments The Reform of 1967 Family Policies under the Right in Power Moral Liberalization of Social Legislation Decline of Family Benefits Support for Larger Families Support for Working Mothers The Mitterrand Years Renovating the Démocratie Sociale Modernizing Family Policies Moral Liberalization of Family Legislation Increasing Family Benefits Support for Smaller Families Promotion of Work-family Reconciliation Policies Great Disillusions? PART II 5. A Period of Changes 1 Catholicism in Contemporary France: Some Observations Weakening Values? A Church in Decline? Do Catholic Values Still Play a Role in French Politics? Catholicism and Civil Society Entering a Post-secular Era: Secularization, Civic Engagement, and New Social Mobilization 6. Social Catholicism in an Age of Permanent Austerity Housing Policies and Social Catholicism Early and Contradictory Developments Increasing Activism Toward a New Alliance? Evaluating Values in Action 7. New Ideological Conflicts? Against Same-sex Marriage Troubles in the Church The Political Support for the Anti-gay Marriage Campaign The Opposition of Civil Society Influence on Policy Outcomes Abortion: A Still Open Question New Ideological Conflicts? 8. A Contribution to a Theory on the Mobilization of Catholicism in Secular Societies Continuities and Changes in a Long Story A Way Ahead Concluding Remarks Abbreviations Bibliography Index of Persons Colophon