Aarhus University Seal

FIDUCIA: The theological roots of Danish trust culture undergirding the welfare state

Project: Research

See relations at Aarhus University

Description

FIDUCIA explores potential influences of Lutheran theology on the development of Danish trust culture. The Danish welfare state is characterised by high levels of social and institutional trust, which nourish a socially cohesive society with low corruption, a minimum of bureaucracy, and limited 'free-riding', despite high taxes. This trust culture has attracted considerable international attention, but little is known about its historical background. FIDUCIA unearths the possible theological roots hereof, examining how theological social imaginaries of trust might have affected how Danes related to fellow citizens, societal institutions, and state authorities as Denmark developed from an absolutist kingdom to a nascent liberal democratic welfare state from the mid-19th century onwards.
FIDUCIA is made possible through a Carlsberg Foundation Internationalisation Fellowship and will be carried out at The School of Social and Political Science, Edinburgh University.
AcronymFIDUCIA
StatusActive
Effective start/end date01/01/202231/12/2023

Activities

Press/Media

Research outputs

ID: 219821616