The market and social welfare in Australia: the creation of an "enterprise theology"

Recently several governments have contracted with religious agencies to provide welfare services. For instance in the United States, George W. Bush has furthered the idea of "charitable choice" and the idea that churches should develop social welfare. In Australia, with the dismantling of the Commonwealth Employment Services (C.E.S.), contracts for the provision of "employment services" have been tendered out, with the result that the majority of services have been given to various religious agencies. This paper explores the significance of this development in the context of what I call enterprise theology.