Working with creative creatures: Towards a Christian paradigm for social work theory, with some practical implications

In a previous article (Bowpitt, 1998), I examined the role of Evangelical Christianity as a neglected feature in the historical origins of social work in Britain, arguing that the secular humanist paradigm that came to dominate the profession for the bulk of the twentieth century goes a long way towards explaining that neglect but that the challenging of that dominant paradigm may throw light on the recent revival of interest in the importance of religion to social work. The present article seeks to follow up this historical narrative with a normative consideration of what a Christian theological perspective might imply for social work theory and practice today. It does so in the context of an examination of some traditional philosophical difficulties which social work thinkers have encountered with the relationship between the theoretical and ethical foundations of social work. It then argues for an over-arching theoretical account of human nature as a possible way of overcoming these difficulties, and outlines the main features of a Christian theological anthropology as providing just such an account. It finishes by looking at some implications for a Christian approach to social work practice.