A while back
(four years to be vaguely exact . . . to employ a precise estimate) we posted the
Core Values of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice
(CESJ). We gave them straight, without
embellishment or explanation, as we thought they are pretty much
self-explanatory. The other day,
however, we got an email from someone we had referred to the CESJ website. As he said,
I reviewed CESJ’s website
including the suggested pages on the Welcome Center. I had one
concern I wanted to mention. Although I do think your ideas and the
work you have done are fantastic, I am not sure if my core values align
necessarily with those of CESJ.
I am secular and felt that your
core values are based too much on religion. I would appreciate your
response addressing my concern. Thank
you.
Sincerely,
Juan Dering
As usual, CESJ’s
Director of Communications quickly stepped into the breach and gave what we
think is a good, brief answer. As she
said,
Hi, Juan,
Thanks for
expressing your concern about CESJ’s core values with respect to your own
beliefs. The question about whether expressions of faith and spirituality have
a place in discussions of economic and social justice, economics, ownership, etc.,
is a legitimate one that we’ve discussed since CESJ’s founding. Here a few
quick comments to address that concern:
1) While CESJ’s
founders and members have come from a wide variety of faiths (Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Buddhist, unaffiliated monotheists, etc.),
others have described themselves as secular humanists and even avowed atheists.
Our Core Values are an expression of universality rather than religiosity, and
whose basis is the dignity and empowerment of every human being, as well as how
that person relates to other people and the social order.
2) Rather than
excluding certain principles that have been expressed within all the major
religions, we welcome the different ways that people have expressed the same
values over the course of humanity’s existence. That is, that everyone and
everything everywhere shares a common source, and that all human rights derive
from our common nature as human beings (whether you believe or not that we are “created”
by something higher).
 |
| Aristotelian natural law. |
3) That many
people acknowledge a higher, universal source of creation speaks to the
question of where human rights come from, and whether any human person, group
or institution has created those rights and therefore has the right to take
them away.
4) As imperfect
human beings, we acknowledge that we will never know perfect Truth or Justice,
but that we have a responsibility to pursue a greater understanding of those
values and perfect our application of those values in our social interactions.
5) This is also
why CESJ totally rejects the idea of any religious State or theocracy, because
it combines the coercive powers of the government with the mandatory acceptance
of a particular religious view, and relegates “non-believers” to the status of
non-persons.
6) CESJ,
therefore, also rejects the idea that a secular State, majority or any élite
is the source of human rights, and thus has the authority to deny or negate
human rights.
7) With regard to
the universal right to be an owner of productive instruments, CESJ agrees with
America’s founders that power naturally and necessarily follows property, and
that to prevent the corrupting effects of concentrated power, every society
needs to institute mechanisms for decentralizing economic power (within a
system of checks-and-balances) to every member of society.
8) The question
of how to achieve a just distribution of power through equal capital ownership
opportunities and access to the means is where sound ideas of economics,
politics, finance, technology, green growth, sustainability, corporate
governance, etc. comes into play. The principles upon which we base our
policies, systems and institutions will either promote human freedom and the
empowerment of every person, or will continue to place power in the hands of a
few.
We realize that
many young people today have become disillusioned with all religious
institutions, and that many people like myself who believe in a universal
source of all creation reject various articles of faith expressed in the
various formal religions. However, we also believe that there are eternal moral
truths that religions have helped humanity to comprehend, and that we should
not simply discard these values as we seek to build a better world.
Rest assured that
we don’t require our members, volunteers, or research interns to be religious,
just open-minded to those whose pursuit of justice is driven by their faiths.
We also hope that those who view themselves as agnostic or atheist can help us
communicate our Just Third Way message and Capital Homesteading solutions to
those with similar views.
Juan, I hope I
have clarified aspects of CESJ’s core values that concern you and why we
believe that, once understood, these principles can speak to all (religious or
not) who want to work with others to build economic and social justice for
everyone.
Best,
Dawn
We couldn’t have
said it better ourselves . . . which is why we pilfered Dawn’s response. We may, however, take this opportunity to look
at CESJ’s Core Values more closely when we take up this subject again.
#30#