Talk: Religion as a Force for Social Justice [] Center for Global Justice

Probably most politically progressive adults grew up under a religious influence in their formative years. While they may no longer consider themselves religious believers or practitioners (most probably don’t), they still hold to values that they learned in their youth. These Judeo- Christian values influence their progressive politics.

David Schweickart and Michael Rivage-Seul are two philosophers who will explore this relation between politics and religion. This is especially relevant today with a Catholic President who strongly embraces his religion. Liberation theology and Pope Francis illustrate the progressive side of Catholicism. Schweickart is a retired professor from Loyola University in Chicago. Throughout his career he has been a leading proponent of economic democracy having published such books as After Capitalism. Recently he authored a provocative talk that poses the question “Is ‘Christian Marxist’ an Oxymoron?” An ex-priest, Rivage-Seul taught for many years at Berea College. He has published The Emperor’s God: Imperial Misunderstandings of Christianity among other titles. Today, with a Catholic US President, we look at the progressive potential of the Catholic religion. In recent decades liberation theology pointed in this direction. Today we have Pope Francis. As an institution as well as a theology, Catholicism contains contradictory tendencies. It is important to understand both.

What we do The Center engages in local community support and outreach to promote and advance initiatives and movements toward social justice, grassroots empowerment and democracy, and environmental sustainability.  It is also devoted to critical analysis of the processes and impacts of globalization, both local and international. The Center works to develop alternative socio-economic systems that conserve and share the world’s cultural, economic, and environmental resources for the benefit of humankind.