The origins of social care and social work: creating a global future

Abstract

Mark Henrickson was an Anglican clergyman who turned to social work, and is now a professor in New Zealand. He has written a detailed account of the moral and religious beliefs and teachings in which modern professional social work has its roots. He argues that it is of Western European origin, and the greater part of this book is devoted to an exploration of the stages it has gone through. His stated aim is to convince the reader that modern, professional social work has its origins in Western Europe. This hardly needs arguing, but Henrickson does a thorough job of identifying the intellectual, and perhaps spiritual roots of social work. The author has clearly retained his original interest in theology. As one might expect, he is wellversed in classical and religious sources, and the discussion is unusually detailed about the preand early-Christian periods. After the Introduction, seven chapters are devoted to the history of western social work. These include: