Religion and Social Justice: Neal
Lawson
10/01/07 11:09 |Reflections
Writing recently in The
Guardian (January 3rd), British politician and columnist,
Neal Lawson, suggests that religious people may be the only members
of civil society who can speak out credibly on social justice
issues.
He believes that politicians have largely surrendered their moral authority in their readiness to compromise principles and values in their fascination with media and focus groups. We live, Lawson, argues, in a society permeated and corrupted by a smug consumerist complacency. Only religious figures appear to be willing in these times to puncture this complacency. He cites the recent Christmas messages of both Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in support of this claim. In their messages both church leaders challenged believers to reject consumerist values and to align themselves with the struggle for social justice and the assertion of humanity in a world where human life has been trivialised by markets, media and the cult of celebrity.
He goes on to say: "As the lifeblood of morality drips from our body politic, it leaves a small pumping heart of socially and morally aware religious leaders and institutions. I don't care if they are Muslim, Catholic or Church of England - if they preach the cause of the poor and the needy in our bloated materialistic world, then they are my people".
As we move to the establishment of Edmund Rice International as a new expression of the Edmund Rice voice in the struggle for justice, human rights and the assertion of the dignity of marginalised, it is consoling to receive, albeit in proxy fashion, this affirmation from Britain's more radical Left. Lawson acknowledges that, as an atheist and a passionate combatant for a secular society, it is difficult for him to recognise that an aggressive secularism has done more harm than good. He now believes that the moral vacuum at the heart of contemporary society must seek a remedy among religious believers who understand both the power of their moral traditions and the need to gather with others in the struggle for justice.
Neal Lawson chairs the left-of-centre pressure group Compass. He is currently writing a book about turbo-consumerism.
He believes that politicians have largely surrendered their moral authority in their readiness to compromise principles and values in their fascination with media and focus groups. We live, Lawson, argues, in a society permeated and corrupted by a smug consumerist complacency. Only religious figures appear to be willing in these times to puncture this complacency. He cites the recent Christmas messages of both Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in support of this claim. In their messages both church leaders challenged believers to reject consumerist values and to align themselves with the struggle for social justice and the assertion of humanity in a world where human life has been trivialised by markets, media and the cult of celebrity.
He goes on to say: "As the lifeblood of morality drips from our body politic, it leaves a small pumping heart of socially and morally aware religious leaders and institutions. I don't care if they are Muslim, Catholic or Church of England - if they preach the cause of the poor and the needy in our bloated materialistic world, then they are my people".
As we move to the establishment of Edmund Rice International as a new expression of the Edmund Rice voice in the struggle for justice, human rights and the assertion of the dignity of marginalised, it is consoling to receive, albeit in proxy fashion, this affirmation from Britain's more radical Left. Lawson acknowledges that, as an atheist and a passionate combatant for a secular society, it is difficult for him to recognise that an aggressive secularism has done more harm than good. He now believes that the moral vacuum at the heart of contemporary society must seek a remedy among religious believers who understand both the power of their moral traditions and the need to gather with others in the struggle for justice.
Neal Lawson chairs the left-of-centre pressure group Compass. He is currently writing a book about turbo-consumerism.
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