Religion and social justice / Shivesh C. Thakur.

Author
Thakur, Shivesh Chandra [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, 1996.
Description
vii, 145 pages ; 23 cm.

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks BL65.J87 T43 1996 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    • Library of philosophy and religion (St. Martin's Press) [More in this series]
    • Library of philosophy and religion
    Summary note
    "Some eminent nineteenth-century intellectuals such as Karl Marx and August Comte predicted the imminent demise of religion as modern science and technology transformed human consciousness. Religion has not only refused to die but, on the contrary, has staged a phenomenal resurgence round the world, thus necessitating a reappraisal of the role of religion in many areas of human activity and aspiration. This book is a philosophical examination of the relationship between religion and social justice. Its main thesis is that, since the primary purpose of religion is the moral and spiritual transformation of human nature, it ought not to be construed as a direct instrument of social justice on earth - as it is by Liberation theologians, for example, and by many liberal Christians and Jews. Indirectly, however, religion may well be a precondition of social justice. For it can be argued that, in the absence of the counteracting effects of the moral and spiritual values prescribed by religion, the liberal vision of individual rights and social justice may be self-defeating. The conditions for social justice are maximized when two conflicting utopias - liberalism, on the one hand, and the biblical idea of the kingdom of God (and its equivalents in the other great religions of the world), on the other - act as much-needed counterweights to each other."--BOOK JACKET.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    • Preface
    • Introduction (starting p. 1)
    • 1 Justice: A Preliminary Survey (starting p. 5)
    • 2 Philosophical Conceptions of Justice (starting p. 15)
    • 3 The Idea of Justice in the Great Religions (starting p. 29)
    • 4 Social Justice and the Predicament of Religion (starting p. 42)
    • 5 Liberation Theology and Social Justice (starting p. 51)
    • 6 Religion, Economic Development and Social Justice (starting p. 63)
    • 7 Modernity, Nationalism and Religious Fundamentalism (starting p. 74)
    • 8 Religion, Politics and Public Life (starting p. 85)
    • 9 The Kingdom of God and the 'Good Life' on Earth (starting p. 97)
    • 10 The Ethic of Rights and the Ethic of Duties (starting p. 110)
    • 11 Conclusion: The City of God and the Citadel of Creatures (starting p. 121)
    • References and Notes (starting p. 131)
    • Index (starting p. 139)
    ISBN
    • 0333609905 ((U.K.))
    • 9780333609903 ((U.K.))
    • 0312159366 ((U.S.))
    • 9780312159368 ((U.S.))
    LCCN
    96007683
    OCLC
    34517349
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