66-456: (Redirected from Christian Social ) Christian social may refer to: Christian left Christian socialism , a political ideology. Christian Social Party (disambiguation) , a list of parties of which some do and some do not adhere to this ideology. The self-described ideology of the Christian Union (Netherlands) Topics referred to by
132-480: A secular theory of socialism in The Communist Manifesto . Starting in the late 19th century and early 20th century, some began to take on the view that genuine Christianity had much in common with a leftist perspective. From St. Augustine of Hippo 's City of God through St. Thomas More 's Utopia , major Christian writers had expounded upon views that socialists found agreeable. Of major interest
198-574: A disability at all. Rather, they are disadvantaged by technologies and social institutions designed to cater to the dominant group. ( See the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities .) People belonging to religious minorities have a faith that is different from that held by the majority. Most countries of the world have religious minorities. It is now widely accepted in the West that people should have
264-579: A faith-based social activism, promoted by movements such as Christian socialism . In the United States during this period, Episcopalians and Congregationalists generally tended to be the most liberal, both in theological interpretation and in their adherence to the Social Gospel. In Canada, a coalition of liberal Congregationalists, Methodists, and Presbyterians founded the United Church of Canada , one of
330-486: A minority group as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination". The definition includes both objective and subjective criteria: membership of a minority group is objectively ascribed by society, based on an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics; it
396-427: A minority, the status of women, as a subordinate group, has led to many social scientists to refer to them as a disadvantaged group. Though women's legal rights and status vary widely across countries, women often experience social inequalities, relative to men, in various societies. Women are sometimes denied access to education and access to the same opportunities as men, especially in under-developed countries. In
462-538: A number of values, some of which may or may not be held by different Christian movements and individuals. As the unofficial title of a loose association of believers, it provides a clear distinction from the more commonly known Christian right , or religious right, and from its key leaders and political views. The Christian left does not hold the notion that left-leaning policies, whether economic or social, stand in apparent contrast to Christian beliefs. The most common religious viewpoint that might be described as left-wing
528-419: A preacher. And what I'm doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man. The Christian left generally approaches homosexuality differently from some other Christian political groups. This approach can be driven by focusing on issues differently despite holding similar religious views, or by holding different religious ideas. Those in
594-875: A racial and religious minority). Likewise, individuals may also be part of a minority group in regard to some characteristics, but part of a dominant group in regard to others. The term "minority group" often occurs within the discourse of civil rights and collective rights , as members of minority groups are prone to differential treatment in the countries and societies in which they live. Minority group members often face discrimination in multiple areas of social life, including housing, employment, healthcare, and education, among others. While discrimination may be committed by individuals, it may also occur through structural inequalities , in which rights and opportunities are not equally accessible to all. Those in favour of minority rights often pursue laws designed to protect minority groups from discrimination and afford members of
660-436: A section that stated if authorities did not protect people with learning disabilities from others' actions, such as harm or neglect, then they could be prosecuted. The disability rights movement has contributed to an understanding of disabled people as a minority or a coalition of minorities who are disadvantaged by society, not just as people who are disadvantaged by their impairments. Advocates of disability rights emphasize
726-583: A stance is relevant and important. Adhering to the standard of " turning the other cheek ", which they believe supersedes the Old Testament law of " an eye for an eye ", the Christian left sometimes hearkens towards pacifism in opposition to policies advancing militarism . The medieval Waldensians sect had a leftist character. Some among the Christian left, as well as some non-religious socialists, find support for anarchism , communism , and socialism in
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#1732841104649792-741: A threat to their status and power. The church was sometimes seen as part of the establishment. Revolutions in the United States , France and Russia were in part directed against the established churches, or rather their leading clergy, and instituted a separation of church and state . In the 19th century, some writers and activists developed the school of thought of Christian socialism , which infused socialist principles into Christian theology and praxis. Early socialist thinkers such as Robert Owen , Henri de Saint-Simon based their theories of socialism upon Christian principles. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels reacted against these theories by formulating
858-451: A very different culture and language makes difficulties in the early stages of life in the new country. Voluntary immigrants do not experience a sense of divided identity as much as involuntary minorities and are often rich in social capital because of their educational ambitions. Major immigrant groups in the United States include Mexicans, Central and South Americans, Cubans, Africans, East Asians, and South Asians. The term sexual minority
924-425: Is social justice , or care for impoverished and oppressed minority groups . Supporters of this trend might encourage universal health care , welfare provisions, subsidized education, foreign aid , and affirmative action for improving the conditions of the disadvantaged. With values stemming from egalitarianism , adherents of the Christian left consider it part of their religious duty to take actions on behalf of
990-418: Is a social group within a state that differs from the majority and/or dominant population in terms of ethnicity, language, culture, or religion, but also it also tends to have a close link with a specific territory from which the minority social group originates. Also known as "castelike minorities", involuntary minorities are a term for people who were originally brought into any society against their will. In
1056-570: Is also subjectively applied by its members, who may use their status as the basis of group identity or solidarity . Thus, minority group status is categorical: an individual who exhibits the physical or behavioral characteristics of a given minority group is accorded the status of that group and is subject to the same treatment as other members of that group. Joe Feagin , states that a minority group has five characteristics: (1) suffering discrimination and subordination, (2) physical and/or cultural traits that set them apart, and which are disapproved by
1122-435: Is based on the idea that a group can be considered a minority even if it includes such a large number of people that it is numerically not a minority in society. Some sociologists have criticized the concept of "minority/majority", arguing this language excludes or neglects changing or unstable cultural identities, as well as cultural affiliations across national boundaries. As such, the term historically excluded groups (HEGs)
1188-435: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Christian left The Christian left is a range of Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice principles and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel based on their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity . Given the inherent diversity in international political thought,
1254-491: Is frequently used by public health researchers to recognize a wide variety of individuals who engage in same-sex sexual behavior, including those who do not identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. For example, men who have sex with men (MSM), but do not identify as gay. In addition, the term gender minorities can include many types of gender variant people, such as intersex people, transgender people , or non-binary individuals. However,
1320-584: Is largely determined hereditarily . However, it can also be influenced by factors such as adoption , cultural assimilation , religious conversion , and language shift . As race and ethnicity often overlap, many ethnic minorities are also racial minorities. However, this is not always the case, and some people are ethnic minorities while also being classified as white, such as some Jews , Roma , and Sámi . In some cases, their ethnic identities have been seen as negating their whiteness, in both inter- and intra-group identification. In some countries, such as
1386-579: Is often similarly used to highlight the role of historical oppression and domination, and how this results in the under-representation of particular groups in various areas of social life. The term national minority is often used to discuss minority groups in international and national politics. All countries contain some degree of racial, ethnic, or linguistic diversity. In addition, minorities may also be immigrant, indigenous or landless nomadic communities. This often results in variations in language, culture, beliefs, practices, that set some groups apart from
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#17328411046491452-776: Is one of the criteria for to determine a national minority, upon the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . Some especially significant or powerful minorities receive comprehensive protection and political representation. For example, the former Yugoslav Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the three constitutive nations, none of which constitutes a numerical majority (see nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina ). However, other minorities such as Roma and Jews , are officially labelled "foreign" and are excluded from many of these protections. For example, they may be excluded from political positions, including
1518-419: Is the (Catholic and progressive evangelical) consistent life ethic , which sees opposition to capital punishment , militarism , euthanasia , abortion and the global unequal distribution of wealth as being related. It is an idea with certain concepts shared by Abrahamic religions as well as some Buddhists , Hindus , and members of other religions. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago developed
1584-488: The United Kingdom . The various minority groups in a country are often not given equal treatment. Some groups are too small or indistinct to obtain minority protections. For example, a member of a particularly small ethnic group might be forced to check "Other" on a checklist of different backgrounds and so might receive fewer privileges than a member of a more defined group. Many contemporary governments prefer to assume
1650-516: The United States , for example, non-Hispanic Whites constitute the majority (58.4%) and all other racial and ethnic groups ( Mexican , African Americans , Asian Americans , American Indian , and Native Hawaiians ) are classified as "minorities". If the non-Hispanic White population falls below 50% the group will only be the plurality , not the majority. Racial minorities, sometimes referred to synonymously as people of color or non-white people, are minority groups that are discriminated against on
1716-477: The socialist Christian left. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels , authors of the Communist Manifesto , both had Christian upbringings; however, neither were devout Christians. As with any section within the left–right political spectrum , a label such as Christian left represents an approximation, including within it groups and persons holding many diverse viewpoints. The term left-wing might encompass
1782-553: The Christian left have not only a different focus on issues from other Christian political groups, but different religious ideas as well. For example, some members of the Christian left may consider discrimination and bigotry against homosexuals to be immoral, but they differ on their views towards homosexual sex. Some believe homosexual sex to be immoral but unimportant compared with issues relating to social justice, or even matters of sexual morality involving heterosexual sex. Others assert that some homosexual practices are compatible with
1848-447: The Christian left who have similar ideas as other Christian political groups but a different focus may view Christian teachings on certain issues, such as the Bible's prohibitions against killing or criticisms of concentrations of wealth, as far more politically important than Christian teachings on social issues emphasized by the religious right , such as opposition to homosexuality. Others in
1914-431: The Christian life. Such members believe common biblical arguments used to condemn homosexuality are misinterpreted, and that biblical prohibitions of homosexual practices are actually against a specific type of homosexual sex act, i.e. pederasty , the sodomizing of young boys by older men. Thus, they hold biblical prohibitions to be irrelevant when considering modern same-sex relationships. A related strain of thought
1980-514: The Gospels, for example Mikhail Gorbachev citing Jesus as "the first socialist". The Christian left is a broad category that includes Christian socialism, as well as Christians who would not identify themselves as socialists. For much of the early history of anti-establishment leftist movements, such as socialism and communism , which was highly anti-clerical in the 19th century, some established churches were led by clergy who saw revolution as
2046-567: The United Kingdom, there is a preference to categorise people by ethnicity instead of race. Ethnicity encompasses a mix of "long shared cultural experiences, religious practices, traditions, ancestry, language, dialect or national origins". The United Kingdom considers everyone but white British people to be an ethnic minority, including other white Europeans such as White Irish people (excluding in Northern Ireland). A national minority
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2112-431: The United States' one-drop rule and blood quantum laws , South Africa's apartheid , and Nazi Germany Nuremberg race laws . Other times, race has been a matter of self-identification, with de facto racist policies implemented. In addition to governmental policy, racism may persist as social prejudice and discrimination. There are also social groups that are usually identified through ethnicity . Like race, ethnicity
2178-486: The United States, for instance, it includes but is not limited to Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and in the 1800s, native-born Hispanics . Immigrants take on minority status in their new country, usually in hopes of a better future economically, educationally, and politically than in their homeland. Because of their focus on success, voluntary minorities are more likely to do better in school than other migrating minorities. Adapting to
2244-604: The United States, members of the Christian Left come from a spectrum of denominations : Peace churches , elements of the Protestant mainline churches, Catholicism , and some evangelicals . Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Inspired by his Christian beliefs and
2310-480: The academic context, the terms "minority" and "majority" are used in terms of hierarchical power structures . For example, in South Africa, during Apartheid , white Europeans held virtually all social, economic, and political power over black Africans. For this reason, black Africans are the "minority group", despite the fact that they outnumber white Europeans in South Africa. This is why academics more frequently use
2376-665: The basis of race . Though definitions vary cross-culturally, modern racism is primarily based on the European and American classifications of race that developed during the Age of Exploration , as European countries sought to categorize the nations they colonized into pseudo-scientific phenotypical groups. In the United States's system, whiteness is at the top of a hierarchy that automatically classifies mixed-race individuals as their subordinate race . Sometimes, racist policies explicitly codified pseudo-scientific definitions of race: such as
2442-410: The concept of minority rights and bringing prominence to it. The League of Nations Minorities Commission defined minority in 1919 as "nationals belonging to racial, religious, or linguistic minorities". Protection of minority groups, such as through careful drawing of boundaries of states and proportional representation , was seen as integral in preventing causes of future wars. Louis Wirth defined
2508-624: The despotic leaders in Southern and Central America allied themselves with the communist opposition. However, it developed independently of and roughly simultaneously with Black theology in the U.S. and should not be confused with it. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided that while liberation theology is partially compatible with Catholic social teaching, certain Marxist elements of it, such as
2574-401: The difference in physical or psychological functioning rather than inferiority. For example, some autistic people argue for acceptance of neurodiversity , much as opponents of racism argue for acceptance of ethnic diversity. The deaf community is often regarded as a linguistic and cultural minority rather than a group with disabilities, and some deaf people do not see themselves as having
2640-414: The doctrine of perpetual class struggle, are against Church teachings. A number of movements of the past had similarities to today's Christian left: Minority groups The term " minority group " has different usages, depending on the context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with
2706-516: The dominant group, (3) a shared sense of collective identity and common burdens, (4) socially shared rules about who belongs and who does not determine minority status, and (5) tendency to marry within the group. There is a controversy with the use of the word minority, as it has a generic and an academic usage. Common usage of the term indicates a statistical minority; however, academics refer to power differences among groups rather than differences in population size among groups. The above criticism
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2772-524: The dominant group. As these differences are usually perceived negatively, this results in loss of social and political power for members of minority groups. There is no legal definition of national minorities in international law, though protection of minority groups is outlined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities . International criminal law can protect
2838-425: The failure of the dominant English -speaking majority to integrate French Canadians has provoked Quebec separatism . Others assert that minorities require specific protections to ensure that they are not marginalized: for example, bilingual education may be needed to allow linguistic minorities to fully integrate into the school system and compete equally in society. In this view, rights for minorities strengthen
2904-420: The first true Christian left denominations. Later in the 20th century, liberation theology was championed by such writers as Gustavo Gutierrez and Matthew Fox . To a significant degree, the Christian left developed out of the experiences of clergy who went to do pastoral work among the working class, often beginning without any social philosophy but simply a pastoral and evangelistic concern for workers. This
2970-526: The freedom to choose their religion, including the right to convert from one religion to another, or not to have any religion ( atheism and/or agnosticism ). However, in many countries, this freedom is constricted. In Egypt , a new system of identity cards requires all citizens to state their religion—and the only choices are Islam , Christianity , or Judaism (See Egyptian identification card controversy ). In most societies, numbers of men and women are roughly equal . Though women are not considered to be
3036-472: The idea for the consistent life ethic in 1983. Sojourners is particularly associated with this strand of thought. Liberation theology is a theological tradition that emerged in the developing world , primarily in Latin America . Since the 1960s, Catholic thinkers have integrated left-wing thought and Catholicism, giving rise to Liberation theology. It arose at a time when Catholic thinkers who opposed
3102-416: The least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority". Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority , and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority. In terms of sociology, economics, and politics, a demographic that takes up the smallest fraction of the population is not necessarily labelled the "minority" if it wields dominant power. In
3168-509: The minority group equal social status and legal protections as held by members of the dominant group. Prior to the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) , the term "minority" primarily referred to political parties in national legislatures, not ethnic, national, linguistic or religious groups. Such minority parties were powerless relative to the majority (or plurality) political group. The Paris Conference has been attributed with coining
3234-510: The nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi , he led targeted, nonviolent resistance against Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination. In 1957, King and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The group was created to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct nonviolent protests in the service of civil rights reform. The group
3300-451: The oppressed. Matthew 25:31–46 , among other verses, is often cited to support this view. As nearly all major religions contain some kind of requirement to help others , adherents of various religions have cited social justice as a movement in line with their faith. The term social justice was coined in the 1840s by Luigi Taparelli , an Italian Catholic scholar of the Society of Jesus , who
3366-436: The people they rule all belong to the same nationality rather than separate ones based on ethnicity. The United States asks for race and ethnicity on its official census forms, which thus breaks up and organizes its population into sub-groups, primarily racial rather than national. Spain does not divide its nationals by ethnic group or national minorities, although it does maintain an official notion of minority languages, that
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#17328411046493432-503: The politics of some countries, a "minority" is an ethnic group recognized by law, and having specified rights. Speakers of a legally recognized minority language , for instance, might have the right to education or communication with the government in their mother tongue. Countries with special provisions for minorities include Canada , China , Ethiopia , Germany , India , the Netherlands , Poland , Romania , Russia , Croatia , and
3498-661: The presidency. There is debate over recognizing minority groups and their privileges. One view is that the application of special rights to minority groups may harm some countries, such as new states in Africa or Latin America not founded on the European nation-state model, since minority recognition may interfere with establishing a national identity. It may hamper the integration of the minority into mainstream society, perhaps leading to separatism or supremacism . In Canada , some feel that
3564-598: The recognition of LGBTQ+ people as members of a minority group. These inequalities include social discrimination and isolation, unequal access to healthcare , employment, and housing, and experience negative mental and physical health outcomes due to these experiences. Leading up to the Human Rights Act 1998 in the UK, a rise in the awareness relating to how disabled people were being treated began. Many started to believe that they were being denied basic human rights. This act had
3630-541: The rights of racial or ethnic minorities in several ways. The right to self-determination is a key issue. The Council of Europe regulates minority rights in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . In some places, subordinate ethnic groups may constitute a numerical majority, such as Blacks in South Africa under apartheid . In
3696-576: The ruling political elite of a country" and reserves the term 'minority' only for groups that have been granted minority rights by their state of residence. Minority group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as: ethnicity (ethnic minority), race (racial minority), religion ( religious minority ), sexual orientation ( sexual minority ), or disability . The framework of intersectionality can be used to recognize that an individual may simultaneously hold membership in multiple minority groups (e.g. both
3762-428: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Christian social . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christian_social&oldid=877690501 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3828-523: The term Christian left can have different meanings and applications in different countries. While there is much overlap, the Christian left is distinct from liberal Christianity , meaning not all Christian leftists are liberal Christians and vice versa . In the United States, the Christian left usually aligns with modern liberalism and progressivism , using the social gospel to achieve better social and economic equality. Christian anarchism , Christian communism , and Christian socialism are subsets of
3894-422: The term "minority group" to refer to a category of people that experience relative disadvantage, as compared to members of a dominant social group. To address this ambiguity, Harris Mylonas has proposed the term "non-core group", instead of "minority group", to refer to any aggregation of individuals that is perceived as an unassimilated ethnic group (on a linguistic, religious, physical, or ideological basis) by
3960-482: The terms sexual and gender minority are often not preferred by LGBTQ+ people, as they represent clinical categories rather than individual identity. Though lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender , and queer (LGBTQ+) people have existed throughout human history, they represent a numerical and social minority. They experience numerous social inequalities stemming from their group membership as LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ rights movements across many western countries led to
4026-554: Was inspired by the crusades of evangelist Billy Graham , who befriended King, as well as the national organizing of the group in Friendship, founded by King allies Stanley Levison and Ella Baker . King led the SCLC until his death. As a Christian minister, King's main influence was Jesus Christ and the Christian gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at church, and in public discourses. King's faith
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#17328411046494092-533: Was inspired by the writings of Thomas Aquinas . The Christian left holds that social justice, renunciation of power, humility, forgiveness, and private observation of prayer (as in Matthew 6:5–6 ) as opposed to publicly mandated prayer, are mandated by the Gospel . The Bible contains accounts of Jesus repeatedly advocating for the poor and outcast over the wealthy, powerful, and religious. The Christian left maintains that such
4158-743: Was particularly true among the Methodists and Anglo-Catholics in England, Father Adolph Kolping in Germany and Joseph Cardijn in Belgium. Some Christian groups were closely associated with the peace movements against the Vietnam War as well as the 2003 Invasion of Iraq . Religious leaders in many countries have also been on the forefront of criticizing any cuts to social welfare programs. In addition, many prominent civil rights activists were religious figures. In
4224-694: Was strongly based in Jesus' commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself , loving God above all, and loving your enemies, praying for them and blessing them. His nonviolent thought was also based in the injunction to turn the other cheek in the Sermon on the Mount , and Jesus' teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Matthew 26:52). In his famous " Letter from Birmingham Jail ", King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus' "extremist" love, and also quoted numerous other Christian pacifist authors, which
4290-747: Was the extremely strong thread of egalitarianism in the New Testament . Other common leftist concerns such as pacifism , social justice , racial equality , human rights , and the rejection of excessive wealth are also expressed strongly in the Bible . In the late 19th century, the Social Gospel movement arose (particularly among some Anglicans , Lutherans , Methodists and Baptists in North America and Britain ,) which attempted to integrate progressive and socialist thought with Christianity to produce
4356-513: Was very usual for him. In another sermon, he stated: Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don't plan to run for any political office. I don't plan to do anything but remain
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