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, as well as by many liberal Christians and Jews. Indirectly, however, religion may well be a pre-condition of social justice. For it can be argued that, without 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. Humanity is best served if this liberal vision is counterbalanced by the completely contrary utopia enshrined in the biblical idea of the kingdom of God, and its equivalents in the other great religions of the world.

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University of Northern Iowa, USA

Shivesh C Thakur

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SHIVESH C. THAKUR

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: Religion and Social Justice
Authors: Shivesh C Thakur
Series Title: Library of Philosophy and Religion
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374447
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Palgrave Religion & Philosophy Collection, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 1996
eBook ISBN: 978-0-230-37444-7Published: 04 October 1996
Series ISSN: 2947-0242
Series E-ISSN: 2947-0250
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VII, 145
Topics: Philosophy of Religion, Social Justice, Equality and Human Rights, Philosophy of Law

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University of Northern Iowa, USA

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