Editing Social justice (section)

== Religious perspectives ==
===Abrahamic religions===

==== Christianity ====
{{See also|Christian ethics|Christian democracy}}

===== Evangelicalism =====
''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine noted that younger Evangelicals also increasingly engage in social justice.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Sullivan|first=Amy|date=2010-06-01|title=Young Evangelicals: Expanding Their Mission|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1992463-1,00.html|access-date=2020-10-08|issn=0040-781X|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115185057/http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1992463-1,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[John Stott]] traced the call for social justice back to the cross, "The cross is a revelation of God's justice as well as of his love. That is why the community of the cross should concern itself with social justice as well as with loving philanthropy."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stott|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSHC3qDjFS4C&pg=PA285|title=The Cross of Christ|date=2012-11-29|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-6636-6|page=185|language=en}}</ref>

====== Methodism ======
From its founding, Methodism was a Christian social justice movement. Under [[John Wesley]]'s direction, Methodists became leaders in many social justice issues of the day, including the [[prison reform]] and [[abolitionism|abolition]] movements. Wesley himself was among the first to preach for slaves rights, attracting significant opposition.<ref>S. R. Valentine, John Bennet & the Origins of Methodism and the Evangelical revival in England, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 1997.</ref><ref>Carey, Brycchan. "John Wesley (1703–1791)." The British Abolitionists. Brycchan Carey, 11 July 2008. 5 October 2009. [http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/index.htm Brycchancarey.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129112229/http://brycchancarey.com/abolition/index.htm |date=29 January 2016 }}</ref><ref>Wesley John, "Thoughts Upon Slavery," John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life. Charles Yrigoyen, 1996. 5 October 2009. [http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/thoughtsuponslavery.stm Gbgm-umc.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016083225/http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/thoughtsuponslavery.stm |date=16 October 2014 }}</ref>

Today, social justice plays a major role in the [[United Methodist Church]] and the [[Free Methodist Church]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Do Justice |url=https://www.ffmc.org/do-justice |publisher=First Free Methodist Church |access-date=12 June 2021 |language=English }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The ''Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church'' says, "We hold governments responsible for the protection of the rights of the people to free and fair elections and to the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, communications media, and petition for redress of grievances without fear of reprisal; to the [[right to privacy]]; and to the guarantee of the rights to adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care."<ref>The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church – 2012 ¶164 V, [http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5066539&ct=6467671&notoc=1 umc.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206020517/http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5066539&ct=6467671&notoc=1 |date=6 December 2013 }}</ref> The United Methodist Church also teaches [[Human population control|population control]] as part of its doctrine.<ref>The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church – 2008 ¶ 162 K, [http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5066539&ct=6467635&notoc=1 umc.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206012803/http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5066539&ct=6467635&notoc=1 |date=6 December 2013 }}</ref>

===== Catholicism =====
{{prose|section|date=May 2022}}
{{Main|Catholic social teaching}}

Catholic social teaching consists of those aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine which relate to matters dealing with the respect of the individual human life. A distinctive feature of Catholic social doctrine is its concern for the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. Two of the seven key areas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.htm |title = Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching |access-date = 29 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608113958/http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.htm |archive-date = 8 June 2007 }}</ref> of "Catholic social teaching" are pertinent to social justice:
* Life and dignity of the human person: The foundational principle of all Catholic social teaching is the sanctity of all human life and the inherent dignity of every human person, from conception to natural death. Human life must be valued above all material possessions.
* Preferential option for the poor and [[social vulnerability|vulnerable]]: Catholics believe Jesus taught that on the [[Day of Judgement]] God will ask what each person did to help the poor and needy: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."<ref>[[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 25:40.</ref> The Catholic Church believes that through words, prayers and deeds one must show solidarity with, and compassion for, the poor. The moral test of any society is "how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. People are called to look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor."<ref>Option for the Poor, [http://www.osjspm.org/cst/themes.htm Major themes from Catholic Social Teaching] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216183419/http://www.osjspm.org/cst/themes.htm |date=16 February 2006 }}, Office for Social Justice, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.</ref>

Modern Catholic social teaching is often thought to have begun with the encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII.<ref name=":1" />
* [[Pope Leo XIII]], who studied under Taparelli, published in 1891 the [[encyclical]] ''[[Rerum novarum]]'' (On the Condition of the Working Classes; lit. "On new things"), rejecting both [[socialism]] and [[capitalism]], while defending labor unions and private property. He stated that society should be based on cooperation and not [[class conflict]] and [[competition]]. In this document, Leo set out the Catholic Church's response to the social instability and labor conflict that had arisen in the wake of industrialization and had led to the rise of socialism. The Pope advocated that the role of the state was to promote social justice through the protection of rights, while the church must speak out on social issues to teach correct social principles and ensure class harmony.
* The encyclical ''[[Quadragesimo anno]]'' (On Reconstruction of the Social Order, literally "in the fortieth year") of 1931 by [[Pope Pius XI]], encourages a [[living wage]],<ref>Popularised by [[John A. Ryan]], although see [[Sidney Webb]] and [[Beatrice Webb]], ''[[Industrial Democracy]]'' (1897)</ref> [[subsidiarity (Catholicism)|subsidiarity]], and advocates that social justice is a personal virtue as well as an attribute of the social order, saying that society can be just only if individuals and institutions are just.
* [[Pope John Paul II]] added much to the corpus of the Catholic social teaching, penning three encyclicals which focus on issues such as economics, politics, geo-political situations, ownership of the means of production, private property and the "[[social mortgage]]", and private property. The encyclicals ''[[Laborem exercens]]'', ''[[Sollicitudo rei socialis]]'', and ''[[Centesimus annus]]'' are just a small portion of his overall contribution to Catholic social justice. Pope John Paul II was a strong advocate of justice and [[human rights]], and spoke forcefully for the poor. He addresses issues such as the problems that technology can present should it be misused, and admits a fear that the "progress" of the world is not true progress at all, if it should denigrate the value of the human person. He argued in ''[[Centesimus annus]]'' that private property, markets, and honest labor were the keys to alleviating the miseries of the poor and to enabling a life that can express the fullness of the human person.
* [[Pope Benedict XVI]]'s encyclical ''[[Deus caritas est]]'' ("God is Love") of 2006 claims that justice is the defining concern of the state and the central concern of politics, and not of the church, which has charity as its central social concern. It said that the laity has the specific responsibility of pursuing social justice in civil society and that the church's active role in social justice should be to inform the debate, using reason and natural law, and also by providing moral and spiritual formation for those involved in politics.
* The official Catholic doctrine on social justice can be found in the book ''Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church'', published in 2004 and updated in 2006, by the [[Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace|Pontifical Council ''Iustitia et Pax'']].

The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (§§&nbsp;1928–1948) contains more detail of the church's view of social justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a3.htm |title = Catechism of the Catholic Church – Social justice |publisher = Vatican.va |access-date = 29 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105063620/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a3.htm |archive-date = 5 November 2013}}</ref>

==== Islam ====

In Muslim history, [[Islamic governance]] has often been associated with social justice.{{additional citation|date=April 2018}} Establishment of social justice was one of the motivating factors of the [[Umayyad#Insurrection|Abbasid revolt]] against the Umayyads.<ref>{{cite book |author = John L. Esposito |title = Islam and Politics |publisher = Syracuse University Press |year = 1998 |page = 17 |author-link = John L. Esposito }}</ref> The Shi'a believe that the return of the ''Mahdi'' will herald in "the messianic age of justice" and the Mahdi along with the Isa (Jesus) will end plunder, torture, oppression and discrimination.<ref>{{cite book |author = John L. Esposito |title = Islam and Politics |publisher = Syracuse University Press |year = 1998 |page = 205 |author-link = John L. Esposito }}</ref>

For the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] the implementation of social justice would require the rejection of [[consumerism]] and [[communism]]. The Brotherhood strongly affirmed the right to private property as well as differences in personal wealth due to factors such as hard work. However, the Brotherhood held Muslims had an obligation to assist those Muslims in need. It held that ''zakat'' (alms-giving) was not voluntary charity, but rather the poor had the right to assistance from the more fortunate.<ref>{{cite book |author = John L. Esposito |title = Islam and Politics |publisher = Syracuse University Press |year = 1998 |pages = 147–8 |author-link = John L. Esposito }}</ref> Most Islamic governments therefore enforce the ''zakat'' through taxes.

==== Judaism ====
{{Main|Tikkun olam}}

In ''To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility'', Rabbi [[Jonathan Sacks]] states that social justice has a central place in [[Judaism]]. One of Judaism's most distinctive and challenging ideas is its [[ethics]] of responsibility reflected in the concepts of [[simcha]] ("gladness" or "joy"), [[tzedakah]] ("the religious obligation to perform charity and philanthropic acts"), [[chesed]] ("deeds of kindness"), and [[tikkun olam]] ("repairing the world").<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sacks|first=Jonathan|title=To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility|publisher=Schocken|year=2005|isbn=978-0-8264-8622-6|location=New York|page=3}}</ref>

===Eastern religions===
==== Hinduism ====

The present-day [[Jāti]] hierarchy is undergoing changes for a variety of reasons including 'social justice', which is a politically popular stance in democratic India. Institutionalized affirmative action has promoted this. The disparity and wide inequalities in social behaviour of the jātis – exclusive, endogamous communities centred on traditional occupations – has led to various [[Social reformers of India|reform movements]] in [[Hinduism]]. While legally outlawed, the caste system remains strong in practice.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Patil |first1 = Vijaykumar |title = Caste system hindering the goal of social justice: Siddaramaiah |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/caste-system-hindering-the-goal-of-social-justice-cm/article6822818.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904050652/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/caste-system-hindering-the-goal-of-social-justice-cm/article6822818.ece |archive-date = 4 September 2015|newspaper = The Hindu |date = 26 January 2015 }}</ref>

==== Traditional Chinese religion ====
{{main|Mandate of Heaven}}

The Chinese concept of Tian Ming has occasionally been perceived{{by whom|date=May 2018}} as an expression of social justice.<ref>Lee Jen-der (2014), "Crime and Punishment: The Case of Liu Hui in the Wei Shu", ''Early Medieval China: A Sourcebook'', New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 156–165, {{ISBN|978-0-231-15987-6}}.</ref> Through it, the deposition of unfair rulers is justified in that civil dissatisfaction and economical disasters is perceived as [[Tian|Heaven]] withdrawing its favor from the Emperor. A successful rebellion is considered definite proof that the Emperor is unfit to rule.