2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
British Welfare State and the Church of England : Activities of William Temple
| Project/Area Number |
15520452
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
History of Europe and America
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| Research Institution | Ehime University |
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Principal Investigator |
YOSHIDA Masahiro Ehime University, Faculty of Law and Letters, Assistant Professor, 法文学部, 助教授 (10284382)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | contemporary history / church / welfare state / Britain / war / social reform |
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| Research Abstract |
During the Second World War, William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury since 1942, supported the war against the Nazi-Germany in many occasions of public speeches, his letters written to the newspapers, and religious programs on BBC Radio. But he showed the profound sympathy with the German people and German Christians. He criticized the crude hatred towards the German. On the other hand, he had already used the word "Welfare State" contrary to "Warfare State" in 1920s. In this research I analyzed many pamphlets written by William Temple since First World War, and showed the logical relationship between his views on Wars and the view on the social reforms.
William Temple attached the greatest importance to the morality of the State. In his view, people should join the army as a duty of citizen, and may give their life to their country. Therefore, activities of the State to which they dedicated their life should be subject to the morality. The Church of England should use her powers to pe
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rsuade the British government to act in accordance with the Christian principles. This is the reason why the Church must be reformed in order to secure the relative independence from the Parliament. Temple recognized the significance of Church of England as a National Church during the twentieth century. The movement of National Mission of Repentance and Hope during the First World War and his other activities can be better understood from such point of view.
Toward the end of the Second World War, Temple played a leading part in "Church Looks Forward" movement, which demanded the morality in economic activities of the City of London. We must comprehend the Welfare State in relation to these activities of William Temple and his followers during the War. He set the British State, subject to moral or religious principles, against the Nazi-State which gave the state or the nation the highest status.
There remain unanswered problems of what type of Welfare State Temple demanded and how far his view influenced the real British Welfare State after the War. Less
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