The case studies in this volume examine the activities of faith-based institutions in a representative sample of African and Latin American countries, including societies with and without a dominant religious tradition, and states with different levels and types of government-provided social services. Among other questions, the chapters examine the types of social service activities faith-based organizations engage in; their effect on civil society and democratic processes; their influence on the character of local and national communities; and what new pressures would be brought to bear on state-provided services if these faith-based organizations ceased to exist.

Part 1: Theoretical Considerations.- Chapter 1. Religion, Faith-Based Organizations and Welfare Delivery in Contemporary Africa and Latin America (Miguel Glatzer, Paul Christopher Manuel, and Christine A. Gustafson).- Chapter 2. The Complex Context for Social Welfare and Human Capacity Strategies in Africa (Katherine Marshall).- Chapter 3."Africa is not a country": General Overview of Faith-based Services and Social Welfare in Africa (Nadine Bowers Du Toit and Barnabe Anzuruni Msabah).- Part 2: Societies With a Dominant Religious Marketplace.- Chapter 4. Muslim NGOs in Contemporary Ghana (Holger Weiss).- Chapter 5. Faith-based Organizations and the Challenge of Developmental Social Welfare in Democratic South Africa (Ignatius Swart) .- Chapter 6. Evolutionary Effectiveness of Faith-based Organizations Public Agency in Kenya (Richard Muko Ochanda, and Humphrey Waliang'i Wafula).- Chapter 7. From Prominence to Derision? Chile's Religious Actors Confront a Turning Point in their Social Welfare Roles (Mathew Carnes and Raimundo Salas Schweikart).- Chapter 8. The Church of the Poor, Civil Society, and Democracy in Southern Mexico: Oaxaca 1960s-2010s (Juan Manuel Lombera).- Part 3: Societies with Mixed Religious Marketplaces.- Chapter 9. Faith-based Organizations, Society, and the State in Chad (Mayke Kaag).- Chapter 10. Faith-based Organizations and Social Welfare: Associational Life and Religion in Nigeria (Omobolaji O. Olarinmoye).- Chapter 11. Faith-based Organizations, Society, and the State in Mozambique (Victoria Armando Chifeche).- Chapter 12. The Contributions of Faith-based Organizations in Uruguay: The most Secularized Sountry in Latin America (Néstor Da Costa).