103 © The Author(s) 2019 P. C. Manuel, M. Glatzer (eds.), Faith-Based Organizations and Social Welfare, Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77297-4_5 CHAPTER 5 The State, Religious Institutions, and Welfare Delivery: The Case of Portugal Paul Christopher Manuel and Miguel Glatzer This chapter examines the role and function of religious-based organizations in the delivery of social services and the strengthening of associational life in Portugal. 1 It asks whether the concept of muted vibrancy provides a theoretical understanding of the role of Catholicism in contemporary Portuguese society. That is, how might a church in a newly consolidated democratic regime, in a time of economic crisis, with a past relationship to a fascist regime, that has lost high-visibility battles on divorce, gay mar- riage, and abortion, and whose numbers of adherents is declining, contribute to the deepening of democracy? The Portuguese case is complicated by the path of development of its civil society: independent interest organizations have historically been weak, and in the place of other civic associations, the Roman Catholic Church—and especially its many charitable organizations—has traditionally been viewed as the embodiment of Portuguese civil society. In light of the fact that the P. C. Manuel (*) American University, Washington, DC, USA M. Glatzer La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA, USA