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- - - - Most denominations link into a specific charity for the poor, eg CofE = Christian Aid, RC = CAFOD, Non-conformists = Tearfund.
      - All Christians are aware of a requirement from God to help others (Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus’ great commandments, etc),
        It is not just that they morally should help, it is expected that they will help.
      - Most Christians do not limit their charity work to a single charity, and will give to many.
      - In every religion the belief of helping the poor is part of the faith. Muslims pay Sadaqah (charity), Sikhs tithe, Jews give tzedakah. All believe that sharing one’s wealth with others is a good way to please God, and to cleanse one’s wealth.
    - - Different Christians give differently – perhaps one regular sum to one or more charities, perhaps giving where need is felt (ie disaster relief contributions), perhaps working for a charity.
      - Contrast Christianity where charity is freely given, with Islam where charity is a requirement of the faith (Pillar of Zakah) and brings punishment from Allah at Judgement if not paid.
      - Different denomination – different charity.
- - - - All Christians believe all humans are created by God, + their life is sacred as a result.
        This means they have equality, + there is dignity to all life. (imago dei).
      - All Christians believe that there will be a final Judgement when justice will be served, + all wrongs righted.
        This does not mean they think that they should not strive for justice now.
    - - Some religious believers are affected by inequality and injustice, whereas others rarely experience it.
      - Different religious believers do different things to bring justice and equality:
        
        it may be that they simply act in a morally upright way all the time - never subjecting another to injustice/treating another as less than themselves.
        
        Could be that they actively try to make their community a more equal, just place, eg by delivering that message to (others in) the congregation.
        
        It may be they try to tackle injustice + inequality through their chosen job, eg teaching in inner city schools.
        
        They might contribute to projects and charities which focus on these aspects.
      - Some religious believers think we can make the world a better place, others believe this will only happen when the Kingdom of God comes/might believe that it is simply a symptom of the times we live in, so must be accepted, whilst trying to be a good person within its context (eg Hindu belief in the Kali Yuga which is an age of discord).
- - - - All Christians are united in being against Excessive interest on loans, and people-trafficking. Both of these exploit and take advantage of people in need, showing a lack of respect for them as equals, and going against imago dei.
      - If Christians follow Amos’ teaching – Let justice roll like a river’, they will want to end practices such as people- trafficking and excessive loans.
      - All Christians believe in justice, and these areas all link to injustice. So Christians would want to maintain or build on the minimum wage, to reduce excessive loans, and to end people-trafficking.
    - - Whilst agreeing there must be a minimum wage, Christians do not necessarily agree on the level of that. They do recognise that to increase it would put some businesses into jeopardy, which could lead to their closing down.
      - Most Christians agree with the use of loans, but some see loans – of any sort – as usury, and against religious law.
      - Different religious people have differing involvement in fixing these issues – some might work within the legal system to fight injustice and protect rights, others might just raise awareness and donate money to relevant charities, still others will be involved in supporting victims of such injustices.
- - - - Most Christian groups agree that the only way to salvation is through Jesus, for example, Methodist missionary work is based on the belief that the message of Jesus must be taken to all for them to be saved.
      - Historically, Christian nations – when they took control of other countries – enforced Christianity on the indigenous peoples.
        This is why much of South America is Catholic (Spanish Empire), or central Africa is Christian (British and other European Empires)
    - - Roman Catholicism is still much more of an exclusivist religion. The Catholic Church is clear that its rituals and sacraments are the right way to worship, for example.
        Whereas, the Quakers are pluralist and open to all – looking more at moral behaviour, than ritualistic practice.
      - Whilst accepting people’s rights to choose their own religion, many Christians do not agree with some of the practices of other faiths, eg finding halal slaughter to be cruel.
      - Christianity is an evangelising religion, and many Christians see it as important to encourage others to at least follow Christian behaviours, if not become Christians. This suggests that other religions are tolerated rather than embraced.
- - - - All religions believe in human rights, though they are framed through their own religious beliefs and rules each time.
        Human rights + social justice are inherent beliefs in the dignity of the person – that each person is special (Islam - made by Allah; Christianity – made by God – sanctity of life).
      - All religions strive for social justice – within communities, the religious leadership will see it as one of their tasks to help the poor and vulnerable and will often co-ordinate projects to do that (shoe box appeals, etc).
      - All Christians see social justice as an important part of the work they do for Jesus – responding to the demand to ‘take up thy cross and follow me’, and ‘I come to heal the sick’.
    - - Many non-religious people see human rights as being rights by nature, ie because you are human you have these rights (natural order);
        whereas Christians see these rights as flowing from the fact we are loved by God.
        That special love gives us these rights (ie a supernatural order).
      - Many Christians see work for human rights and social justice as opportunities to evangelise – either openly, or as role models of Christians; others see this work as an extension of Jesus’ work, simply to help others (as per Parable of Sheep and Goats).
      - Different people work in different projects to bring social justice, eg volunteering for food banks, or campaigning in parliament.
- - - - All Christians believe they have a duty to help those in need – after all, that is what Jesus did.
      - All Christians believe God created the world, + humans have a duty of stewardship to look after the world.
        They also believe life is sacred as it was deliberately created by God, and each individual is loved by God.
        Combining these two beliefs, we can see that all Christians should see a duty to look after others in the world – an extension of stewardship.
      - For all Christians the fight against poverty is a mix of fighting the causes (some can be changed, eg fair trade, development aid, etc), + fighting the consequences (disaster relief etc).
        The story of the widow’s mite shows us we should help in the way we are able to – which isn’t always through giving money.
    - - Use different teachings to explain why Christians help, or contrasting their teachings with those of another religion is one way to answer questions on this topic.
      - Different Christians respond differently to poverty – some give (money, items, etc) regularly or not, some try to raise monies to hand over to charities, some work in poverty relief programmes (paid or voluntary), some try to influence laws and Government decisions, or to influence other Christians. All are positive responses, but they are different ones.
      - Many Christians think first to help those in LEDCs, where poverty is much more acute, and where there are no benefits systems to turn to. Others believe they need to help ‘on their own doorstep’ – being able to see that need more clearly.
- - - - All Christians believe racism to be wrong. The example of Jesus shows he did not use a person’s colour or nationality to discriminate, eg healing the Roman centurion’s servant. His Parable of the Good Samaritan is a perfect example of dealing with people on what they need, not their colour/race. Christians are told to follow Jesus’ example (‘Take up your cross and follow me’), so should treat all people with respect and dignity.
      - Genesis states that all are made in the image of God – imago dei. This means God chose to create people of different colour and race, so there can be no difference in our value. All Christians believe this – we are all children of the same God. To challenge this through being racist is actually an offence to God - because it criticises His design.
    - - There are no contrasting attitudes in Christianity – racism is wrong.
      - There are differing ways to tackle racism – from political means (campaigning, law-change, using the pulpit to encourage tolerance and discourage racism, etc) to action (protest, actual support for victims of racism, etc) to being inclusive (mixed congregations, never turning people of colour away etc).
- - - - All Christians believe that all are made in God’s image, and so have equal dignity. This means that there should be no persecution of homosexuals, and they should be able to undertake roles as anyone else can.
      - The Catholic Church and Orthodox Christianity as well as many Protestant groups see homosexuality as a deviancy which people should not pursue if they feel so inclined. They see this as not part of the natural order.
      - Regardless of denomination, all Christians believe all people should be treated fairly and with respect.
    - - Within the Anglican Church, there are gay vicars and bishops. However, the Church is itself split on this matter, with many Anglican communities taking a traditional stance against homosexuals – these may be the Anglican Church in a country (eg in South Africa), or in a parish in the UK or USA etc. In some cases, being gay is seen as completely wrong, in others, gay relationships as wrong, in others, there is no issue with either.
      - In its Catechism, the Roman Catholic Church calls homosexual acts a ‘moral disorder’ (seeing this as a life choice, not nature); whereas the Metropolitan Church says all are created by God, and God does not make mistakes – they welcome gay people (single or couples) into their community, and into leadership roles.
- - - - Roman Catholic – Leadership within the church is not open to women – they cannot take holy orders to become a priest.
      - Church Of England – the first women Bishop was ordained in 2016, and there are many women priests (though not every CofE community in the world agrees with this).
      - Methodists – there is no bar to leadership. Church leadership is based on ‘fitness’ to lead a spiritual community, not on gender.
      - Religious people would always say that women and men have equal status, even if they have different roles. Non-believers often accuse religions of sexism because of their perceived treatment of women and the perceived status they have.
    - - All Christians believe we were all created in the image of God, are complimentary halves of God’s creation and that every life has equal sanctity and value.
      - All Christians agree with the sentiment in Galatians 3:28. These beliefs mean that women and men should be valued as highly as each other.
      - In all forms of Protestant Christianity, women can lead their religious communities, oversee religious ceremonies, and provide spiritual and pastoral care for the community.