Governing through care: faith-based social
service provision in rural Hungary
Luca Sára Bródy & Gábor Dániel Velkey
Territory, Politics, Governance – Published online: 2 Feb 2026
Abstract
This article explores how faith-based organisations have become key actors in delivering social services in rural Hungary. Drawing on qualitative research with social workers, community organisers and local development programme staff, it examines how care is used to govern marginalised communities through selective and spatially uneven interventions.
The analysis focuses on three dimensions: the spatial logic of service provision, the political framing of Roma poverty, and the dilemmas faced by social work professionals navigating between institutional expectations, professional ethics and community needs. The study contributes to debates on social policy, care and professional agency in the context of welfare transformations.
Keywords: Spatial exclusionrural, povertycaresocial services, faith-based organisations (FBOs), Hungary, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
