Tawney, Christian Socialism and Care

Crisis in Social Care and Unfinished Questions of Modernity

With Britain’s social care system in crisis, what kind of care do we want to have in place for the future? As debates over funding, access, responsibility, and sustainability intensify, we need to rethink how care is understood, negotiated and organised.

This year we mark the centenary of R.H.Tawney's Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and we invite you to reflect on how his vision of social equality and shared responsibility can help address key challenges in social care today.

• How can Tawney’s ideas inform and inspire our own approaches to social care?
• What practical changes can communities and wider society make to develop more inclusive and sustainable forms of care?

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN? In this course we will explore contemporary debates about care, social responsibility and the role of economic and social institutions. We will examine Tawney’s ideas of social purpose, equality, fellowship and responsibility, and bring them into conversation with today’s crisis of social care. No prior knowledge of Tawney is needed!

**TOKYO EXCHANGE** You will have a unique opportunity to explore how responsibility for care may be shared between individuals, families, communities, markets, and the state by critically engaging with Japan’s long-term care insurance as a comparative case!

WHO IS THIS FOR? The course is designed for faith communities and civil society groups, social care and health practitioners, policy experts and researchers - and anyone interested in social work and collaborative efforts to improve care provisions.

HOW WILL YOU LEARN? The course consists of 3 modules running over 3 weeks. There will be short talks, discussions, online materials and practical activities. All learning can be done at your own pace and will take no more than 2-3 hours per week.

We will have live sessions on Zoom every Tuesday evening (10 Nov, 17 Nov & 24 Nov). 

WHAT WILL YOU ACHIEVE? By the end of the course, you will be able to:

1. Understand key ideas in R. H. Tawney’s Christian social thought and explore their relevance to contemporary questions of care and social responsibility.
2. Reflect critically on how this responsibility can be shared between individuals, families, communities, markets and the state.
3. Compare social care in Britain and Japan to consider what can (and cannot) be learned across different social and institutional contexts.
4. Apply these ideas to your own work and local community, and engage in dialogue with participants in Britain and Japan about the future of care.

WHO WILL YOU LEARN WITH?

Dr Masako Hayashi is a Research Fellow of the William Temple Foundation, a lecturer at Rikkyo University, Tokyo, and a Certified Social Worker in Japan. Her research focuses on R. H. Tawney, Christian socialism, public theology and comparative welfare states, with particular interests in the ethical and cultural foundations of social policy.

Dr Stephanie Davies is an interdisciplinary researcher in the medical humanities at the University of Exeter. She works on how people collectively endure a present with no clear sense of what the future holds, and how this shapes their capacity to sustain one another and stay invested in shared health, life, and world-making. Drawing on ethnography, psychosocial theory, and critical time studies, her work explores the possibilities and limits of care and repair.

Book your place by 18 October 2026 and save with our Early Bird Discount!

For more information about the course, please contact Dr Katya Braginskaia, Digital Learning Lead at the William Temple Foundation: katya@williamtemplefoundation.org.uk 

We have a limited number of discounted places to anyone who is unemployed, on a minimum wage, or has limited funds. If you’d like to apply, please email us — places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

We look forward to welcoming you on the course  - and let's reimagine social care together!