Equal Partners: The Welfare Responsibility of Governments and Churches

Luis E. Lugo
Religious Social Sector Project, Center for Public Justice (1998)
Booklet

In the debate about how to design American welfare programs, some look for the increased involvement of community and faith-based groups, and perhaps even the end of government assistance. Others insist that government must play a key role, and perhaps the most important role.

In this important essay, Luis Lugo argues that governments and churches should be equal partners in assisting the poor and needy. Each has its own distinctive contribution to make, and both are needed if the poor are to receive the justice and mercy they require.

Drawing on historic Christian traditions of Catholic social teaching and the Calvinist or Kuyperian perspective of sphere sovereignty, Lugo makes a clear argument for partnership between government and faith-based organizations. Here is a compelling alternative to both governmentalism and libertarianism.

Luis Lugo is Director of the Religion Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, a former Associate Director of the Center for Public Justice, and a former professor at Gordon College and Calvin College. He has a Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of Chicago.