Religion Terms Chapter 3 (Social Justice)

1. Praxis: Living according to one’s belief, not just in private, but also in a way that affects the world. a. Through this critical appropriation critical praxis becomes a possibility.

2. Circle of faith in action: The approach to doing justice that we will examine, which borrows the aspects of the circle of praxis and A Call to Action. b. People all around are called to follow the circle of faith in action to help make the world a better place.

3. Awareness: Seeing, hearing, and knowing the world in a spirit of friendship, as God does. c. We are called to spread awareness of the problems people are facing in the world, so we can help them.

4. Worldview: The beliefs that guide the way someone relates to the world. d. People around the world have different worldviews on how things may affect them, good or bad.

5. Culture: All of the shared values, beliefs, and ways of relating and living together that characterizes a particular group of people. e. Understanding another’s culture is one way to bring people closer.

6. Respect: To look beyond the outer appearances and first impressions to see the goodness that is the foundation of all God’s creation f. If we want to be respected, we must first respects ourselves.

7. Analysis: The process of understanding how people’s lives are affected by the relationships that shape the society in which they live. g. Before we try to approach the problem, we must first go through the process of analysis.

8. Interdependent: Depending on one another for our existence. h. We live in an interdependent world where everyone need one another.

9. Relationship map: Shows the connection between people that shape our society. i. Everyone’s relationship can be seen in the link of the relationship map.

10. Social structure: The patterns that shape any society. j. Many people say that the social structure of out society are somewhat corrupted.

11. Structure of sin: The individuals’ decisions that contribute to the social structure that block justice. k. Our bad decisions are the structures of sin.

12. Power: God-given ability everyone has to affect their own lives; lives of others, and the world around them in either positive or negative ways. l. Everyone thirsts for power over others, but little do they know that sometimes is brings pain to them.

13. Power-over: The belief that human beings are the source of their own power recalls the Original Sin of the first humans, who believe that they could become their own God. (If power is given, it can also be taken) m. Many corporations long for power-over, because they are always fighting to become the top company in the world.

14. Power-with: Everyone has God-given power, because we live in an interdependent world, that power is meant to be shared in relationships with others. n. God wants his creations to have power-with instead of longing to have all the power to their selves because power-with can help bring the relationship between everyone stronger.

15. Boycott: Withdrawal from commercial or social relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest. o. Throughout history, there have been many boycotts regarding because people have been treated unfairly.

16. Strike: Refusal to work as a form of organized protest, typically in an attempt to obtain a particular concession or concessions from their employer. p. Many strikes have taken place because employees are not
happy with the way they are treated by their employers,

17. Action: To change the situation in a way that allows all the people who are involved to experience the good life that the Creator planned for them. q. People should take the action of helping to increase peace and health in the world.

18. Direct action: Action that occurs on the level of individual relationships and is aimed at meeting an immediate need. r. When we do direct action, we can immediately help those in need.

19. Social action: Action that occurs on a level of social structure. s. When social action is taking place, we can spread the awareness of the problem to people who pay no attention to such horrors in the world.

20. Basic ecclesial communities: Small groups of Christians who gather to celebrate the liturgy, hear the Scripture, discuss problems they face in society, and find solutions through inspiration of the Gospel. t. Basic ecclesial communities gather together to help those in need through ideas from the Gospel.

21. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: Took seriously Jesus’ instructions to love the enemy; developed own ideas about how to act on Jesus’ teachings. u. M.K. Gandhi was a very influential man from India.

22. Non-violent non-cooperation: Gandhi’s approach of protesting, striking, and boycotting. v. Gandhi’s non-violent non-cooperation was a way of protesting without aggression of the protestors that may start violence.

23. Civil disobedience: intentionally breaking laws that are unjust. w. Civil disobedience can be seen as breaking a law but not actually breaking a law because it was already broken in the first place.