Rev. Juanita Austin’s letter, ‘Political advocacy part of church role,’ is a timely reminder of the work of Christian churches in advocating on behalf of the poor and oppressed.
Traditionally, churches have responded to human need in two ways: by acts of charity that relieve suffering and want, and by advocating for social justice. Charity means giving to the poor. Justice means asking why the poor are poor, and taking political action to change the systems and policies that perpetuate poverty.
For example, why does annual worldwide military spending stand at $1.7 trillion while 1.4 billion people live in poverty, and 30,000 children die each day from malnutrition or preventable disease? Why is the Canadian government planning to spend $35 billion for jet fighter planes when one in seven Canadian children lives in poverty and many First Nations communities lack clean water and decent housing?
Justice for the Earth is another huge issue that cries out for advocacy. The Bible tells us that God gave humankind stewardship over the Earth, but we’re doing a mighty poor job of it. The International Energy Agency warns that we have only five years to reduce carbon emissions sufficiently to avoid runaway climate change that would drastically alter life on Earth as we know it.
Canadians need to ask: why is the Harper government still subsidizing the fossil fuel industry with $1.7 billion taxpayer dollars annually when these funds are urgently needed to promote the transition to an economy based on renewable energy? Why did Canada recently work to block an international commitment to end annual global subsidies of $409 billion to the fossil fuel industry?
Churches have both the right and the moral responsibility to criticize government policies and to engage in political advocacy toward social and environmental justice. Indeed, the stakes for doing so have never been higher.
Anne Morris
