Religion and Helping the Needy.
Aug. 4th, 2003 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bertineGovernor Bob Riley of Alabama is pushing a tax reform package where the rich pay more than the poor. This isn't that weird of an idea but he is justifying it based on religious grounds.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week648/feature.html
I never finished this paper but I have the start of a good essay talking about the protestantizing of cultures and how moving from a catholic based theology (where you have to earn your way to heaven) to a protestant based system (through the grace of god only) actually means that the poor become poorer since people are not guilted into giving to the poor. I stopped writing this because I wanted to explore other religions and see if this was true in other cultures too. It actually looks like it is true.
In Hinduism people do not haven't to give help to the poor. They can justify passing beggars in the street by saying they are suffering to learn something in this life. In Buddhism there isn't any guilt to give to the poor yet when combined with other religions (Shinto, Confusisiam) that do give to the poor it becomes a giving religion. I haven't looked into many oral religions and so can't say much about them. Since a lot of oral religions don't survive into industrialization the changes in the culture might be due to leaving subsistence living.
Basically, an outside force such as god or government making you give money to the poor is really the only way that the majority of people will give to the needy. People just don't think about the suffering of others because it is too painful. I could never be catholic but catholic charities have done a lot of good around the world, even while trying to convert people.
I should look into this more, the topic fascinates me
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week648/feature.html
I never finished this paper but I have the start of a good essay talking about the protestantizing of cultures and how moving from a catholic based theology (where you have to earn your way to heaven) to a protestant based system (through the grace of god only) actually means that the poor become poorer since people are not guilted into giving to the poor. I stopped writing this because I wanted to explore other religions and see if this was true in other cultures too. It actually looks like it is true.
In Hinduism people do not haven't to give help to the poor. They can justify passing beggars in the street by saying they are suffering to learn something in this life. In Buddhism there isn't any guilt to give to the poor yet when combined with other religions (Shinto, Confusisiam) that do give to the poor it becomes a giving religion. I haven't looked into many oral religions and so can't say much about them. Since a lot of oral religions don't survive into industrialization the changes in the culture might be due to leaving subsistence living.
Basically, an outside force such as god or government making you give money to the poor is really the only way that the majority of people will give to the needy. People just don't think about the suffering of others because it is too painful. I could never be catholic but catholic charities have done a lot of good around the world, even while trying to convert people.
I should look into this more, the topic fascinates me
