The links between religion and philanthropy are long-established and enduring, but have received surprisingly little attention from scholars. Traditions of charitable giving and philanthropy once characteristic of most societies have changed dramatically over the last two centuries, meaning that philanthropy as a way of coping with social and cultural challenges has been marginalized in public discourse. Philanthropists, their motives, and the institutions they funded, vary widely by time, place, and religious tradition. Interdisciplinary studies of philanthropy only recently have they begun to relate philanthropy to phenomena such as social class and mechanisms of social exclusion and inclusion.
The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars from all academic traditions to discuss the social function of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philanthropy in the context of a range of religions. We invite historians, political scientists, economists, and anthropologists who examine philanthropy, patronage, charitable giving, and the non-profit sector to attend the conference. The papers given will cover some of the following questions:
Who gives? Which role do gender, class, religion, and ethnicity play? Does philanthropy create social coherence, group identity, cultural hegemony and forms of power? Does it contribute to the formation and reproduction of social and religious subcultures? Could it have an emancipatory potential for disadvantaged groups? What are the motives and causes of giving? Can philanthropy initiate political and social change? What are the preferred targets (educational, social, religious needs)? How does all of this change over time?
Gwilym Beckerlegge
‘Seva (service to humanity): a boundary issue in the study of recent and contemporary Hinduism' (with reference to the Ramakrishna Math and Mission and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)
Marion Bowman
‘ The Glastonbury Trust: is New Age Philanthropy a new model of Philanthropy?'
Susan Mumm
‘Salvation or Social Welfare? The Split in the British YWCA, 1918-22'
John Wolffe
‘Evangelical Protestants and social transformation in the North Atlantic world from the 1790s to the 1840s: an overview'