The Industrial Revolution and Religion - Assignment Example

Social Justice: Gospel Witness and mission of the Church Module Module ID: PART I: Questions about the Text: 1. The industrial revolution left both positive and negative impacts upon social justice; one the one side, it increased the gulf of pelf, power and possession between haves and haves-not, and on the other side, it opened new avenues of employments, education and health facilities, which increased the scale of awareness amongst the masses, leading towards the introduction of several social and economic reforms, predominantly the establishment of democratic institutions in place of monarchical systems, acknowledgement of right to vote for all members of society, including women, blacks, elderly and poor. 2. The notion solidarity has been depicted to be the shared and multilateral commitment toward effective action that will change the economic, social, cultural and political ways of doing things that perpetuate the structures that oppress the poor and marginalize the weak (Hellmann, 251). In simple words, solidarity stands for the demonstration of collective efforts for the uplift of the oppressed and condemnation of the steps that could suppress or exploit them. 3. The author has cited Matthews 25:31-46 while depicting the preferential option for the poor; which simply means that the humans would be judged on the basis of the services they have rendered for the sick, prisoners, poorand needy etc. In other terms, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and protecting the vulnerable are strongly emphasized in Christianity. 4. Theocentric option reflects man’s concentrating upon Almighty Godas the focal point of thoughts, interests, and feelings. It not only purifies human soul, mind and heart, but also multiplies man’s love and passion for the Creator. It also makes man fearful of the commandments of the Lord, and keeps him away from doing any harm or exercising any cruelties or injustices upon the fellow-beings. 5. Beatitudesrefer to the attributes observing of which has been admired by Jesus Christ during his delivering the Sermon on the Mount. Similarly, beatitudes towards the poor include demonstration of humility and modesty in order to maintain solidarity with the poor and downtrodden strata of society. Affiliating oneself to be one amongst the poor serves as an expression of appreciation and invites the heavenly blessings subsequently(Hellmann, 251). 6. All the three Abrahamic faiths, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, vehemently advocate the collectiveness instead of individualism in all walks of life. Consequently, like other parts of Holy Scriptures, Gospel also reiterates the collectivism, and associates it with social justice and equality. Hellmann (256-7) has distributed social justice into three categories, where commutative justice stands for the relationships of the members of society with one another, which should be developed on the basis of justice and equality. Distributive justice discusses the just distribution of benefits and burdens among all members of society. Similarly, legal justice means citizens’ responsibilities towards state, which includes the abiding by the law (257). 7. These are the mainprinciples for social justice offered by the U.S Catholic bishops: respect for human dignity, respect of human life, association with other members of society,participation in social activities, preferentialprotection for the poor and vulnerable, solidarity with all members of community, stewardship and moral obligations towards the Creator, subsidiary or responsibility towards the political authority and prevailing law,observing of social equality, andstriving for the common good. 8. The author’s declaring injustice as an act that is equivalent to the denial of God conveys the message that the foundations of the universe have been erected on the principle of justice. It is therefore, everyone has to be responsible for his deeds and misdeeds in the form of reward and punishment respectively on the Day of Resurrection. Since the Scripture also stresses upon strict observing of justice, violation of the same mirrors the denial of God actually. PART II: Questions for Discussion: 1. I had applied against a job in a multinational organization, owned and administered by an Indian Hindu entrepreneur. The job was according to my qualification and work experience; consequently, I was optimistic to get appointed against the position advertised by that organization.Somehow, since I could not receive any information even after two weeks of my final interview, I personally visited the office and found a Hindu candidate at that position that had less experience and qualification than me, who had been selected on the basis of his religious background. 2. Despite the fact that the definition and scope of social justice is one and the same since ever; however, the area has sought new dimensions in the wake of globalization. In contemporary era, social justice emphasizes upon offering equal opportunities of growth and development to all members of society within all social institutions without observing bias or prejudice on the basis of their age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, caste, class, and ethno-racial, regional and religious background altogether (United nations, 2006:11-2). 3. The contemporary era is frequently regarded to be the age of media and information flow, where print, electronic and social media provide wide-ranged chances of raising one’s voice in favour of as well as against any notion, idea, policy or act. The same is equally applied to recording one’s protest against social injustices. One can convey one’s message through social and electronic media, in words or through pictures etc. with the aim of capturing the immediate attention of the world. 4. It is a fact beyond suspicion that the poor stratum has always been speechless and invisible in the world throughout; somehow, the poor unwed mothers, illegitimate children, minority ethno-racial and religious groups and communities have also been included in the list of the voiceless, Invisible, and powerless in our world. In addition, women, elderly and gays are also speechless to some extent in most of the third world societies, and have least or no freedom of thought and action. 5. Religion serves as an essential part of everyday life of all societies, significance and central role of which cannot be denied or neglected altogether. Being the followers of the largest faith of the world, Christians unite against every kind of injustices being witnessed within their social and physical environment by raising strong voice against the same, provided the injustice does not challenge the moral or ethical values emulated by the faith. 6. There was a time when church used to enjoy central place in all political and social matters in occidental as well as oriental cultures. Nevertheless, undue interference of the clergy motivated the governments to confine their influence on state and society (Zaidi 2013). Somehow, it does not mean that church and clergy have lost their roles altogether. On the contrary, the church issues statements regarding the matters of public interest in USA and other areas. For instance, the church has always condemned terrorism, extra-marital cohabitation and homosexuality from its platform. 7. Spirituality maintains vastness in its nature and scope because of its association with all positive powers of the universe. As a result, the spiritualism and individuals associated with it appear to be determined to strive for the eradication of social injustices from the face of the earth.Spirituality would never tolerate the exercise of cruelty and injustices on any individual or community, and lays stress upon the spread of equality, peace and justice in allparts of the globe. References Hellmann, J.A. Wayne. Social justice, gospel Witness and Mission of the Church pp. 249-75 Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxAJy1wiHq-TN2JGcERmZ2VmZG8/edit Zaidi, Mujtaba Haider.(2013) “Perpetual Separation between Dogmatism and State.” The Frontier Post Daily Newspaper December 01. Retrieved fromhttp://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/58553/Perpetual-separation-between-Dogmatism-and-State/#.UprCW04m8k4 United Nations. (2006). Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Social Policy and Development, the International Forum for Social Development pp. 4-148 Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/ifsd/SocialJustice.pdf Read More