This volume examines the role and function of religious-based organizations in strengthening associational life in a representative sample of West European countries: newly democratized and long-established democracies, societies with and without a dominant religious tradition, and welfare states with different levels and types of state-provided social services. It asks how faith-based organizations, in a time of economic crisis, and with declining numbers of adherents, might contribute to the deepening of democracy. Throughout, the volume invites social scientists to consider the on-going role of faith-based organizations in Western European civil society, and investigates whether the concept of muted vibrancy aids our theoretical understanding.

Paul Christopher Manuel is Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Director of the leadership program at the School of Public Affairs, American University, USA. He is the author or co-author of nine books and numerous scholarly articles, including The Path of American Public Policy: Comparative Perspectives (2014).

Miguel Glatzer is Associate Professor of Political Science at La Salle University, USA, where he directs the program on leadership and global understanding. His publications include Globalization and the Future of the Welfare State (2005, edited with Dietrich Rueschemeyer).