ABSTRACT
Much of the history of social welfare can be traced back to Church involvement in care provision deriving from a monastic tradition. The post-Reformation period witnessed the growth of different kinds of religious congregations that were not monastic but sought to provide an active religious presence in the towns and cities that began to emerge with industrialisation. In moving away from a contemplative ideal, this new form of religious presence challenged the previous Church order. Much of it was expressed through educational action on behalf of the urban poor, which saw education as both a means to instill moral probity but also as a route out of poverty. Indeed, until the later nineteenth century most education, especially of the poorer classes, was reliant on the work of religious orders or religiously-inspired philanthropists and often involved residential provision. In this sense, the focus of the emerging orders on the education of the poor might be contrasted with the role of more traditional Catholic Orders such as the Jesuits, Dominicans and Benedictines in providing schools for a Catholic elite.
