Christian Social Thought: Understanding the Interrelationship between Self and Community

This study focuses on the five principles of Christian social thought and how they help in understanding the interrelationship between self and community. It covers human dignity, community and the common good, option for the vulnerable and poor, participation, and global solidarity. The study concludes that Christian social thought is fundamental in helping individuals and communities lead a meaningful life.

Running head: CHRISTIAN SOCIAL THOUGHT
Christian Social Thought
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Christian social teaching (CST) is a belief circumscribing the fact that God has created
the living beings on earth for a purpose. He had planned the kingdom based on the pillar of
justice, love and peace. CST touches different aspects of life and this includes the aspects of
international development and family as well. CST also incorporates how we consider and what
humans think about the ones that are homeless, and the way humans care for their environment
(Donaldson & Belanger, 2012). This study will focus on the five principles of the Christian
social thought and the way they help in understanding the interrelationship between self and
community.
Human dignity- in a world that promotes materialism, and has declining respect towards
the humans and their life. It has been established by the Catholic church that dignity of a human
is the most fundamental basis of society and is also the most sacred part. All the human beings
have an inviolable set of human rights, natural rights and the dignity (Engelland, 2014). All these
sets of rights and dignity are considered to be sacred to the humans. These rights and dignity are
neither earned by any means nor they can be lost by any means. It is mandatory that every other
individual will respect rights and promote dignity of other individuals. Thus, this principle
provides a positive relationship between the self and the community. It is mandatory that one
human must respect another human like the same way a human must respect a community. The
community is in itself an entity which just like the humans have the right to be respected by
others (Sison, Ferrero & Guitián, 2016).
Community and the common good- The present world condition is excessively
individualistic and the Christian social principle reveals that a person is not only social but
sacred as well. The way humans exist within the politics and economics directly affects the
capacity of the individuals and the human dignity. It has been held by a common notion that an

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individual’s social needs consist of emotional needs, mental needs and the psychological needs
are held in common by all people. This is a true acknowledgement that communities and
individuals have the potential to prosper together. It is the responsibility of the institutions,
communities and individuals to work towards enhancing the common dignity and common
interests of all the people so that all can pursue common good (Deane‐Drummond, 2012).
Option for the vulnerable and poor- the Christian social thought emphasizes how the
most vulnerable section of the society is doing. The present society has a deep division between
the poor and the rich and it instructs every Christian to put the needs of the vulnerable and the
poor people at the topmost level. This principle is of the central importance to the Christians
social thought and the Christian charity. This identifies the fact that poverty is actually a hurdle
and this prevents a person from benefiting from the life, the Christian social thought aims
towards bringing a change into the lives of the ones that are deprived (Donaldson & Mayer,
2014). Here, a clear relationship can be established between the individual and a community.
This principle explicitly benefits a poor individual in breaking the barriers that it faces during his
or her life. However, it has been found that the help provided towards an individual actually
benefits the community as a whole. Individuals are a part of a greater community and when a
particular individual receives from others, this creates a chain reaction of assistance reaching to
all people (Brenden & Shank, 2012).
Participation- all the people have the inherent right to participate in the cultural, political
and economic life of the society. Participation is the most basic requirement for the human
dignity and the demand for justice. Thus, it a not justified to exclude a person from participating
in community and into the activities of a society. Treating people in such a way depicts that an
individual is not considered to be a human. Here, an individual bears a responsibility and through

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direct or indirect representation contributes to the social life, political life, economic life and
cultural life and the community to which a person belongs. Participation is also a vital principle
of subsidiarity and having an understanding of the participation as a responsibility, is one of the
core part of Christian social thought and subsidiarity (Beyer, 2014).
Global solidarity- Catholic social teachings say that wherever humans may live, they are
the keepers of their sisters and brothers. All the Christians belong to a single human family
irrespective of the ideological differences, economic differences, ethnic differences, national
differences. Solidarity generally means loving our neighbours like the same way we love
ourselves, and this has a global dimension within a present interdependent world (Deane‐
Drummond, 2012). Global solidarity especially identifies that people have their responsibilities
towards each other even if they belong from a different culture, geography, nationality, race or
any other form of difference. Thus, it can be said that solidarity emphasizes a concept which is
called the common good. This common good serves as the base of the duty towards the global
society that has within itself the marginalized, vulnerable members (Beyer, 2014).
Thus, from the above study, it can be concluded that the Christian social thought is the
most fundamental sections and teachings that help an individual and a community to lead a
meaningful life. The major principles of the Christian social thought are the promotion of peace,
the role of the government, solidarity, stewardship of creation, participation, option for the
vulnerable and poor, responsibilities and rights, common good and community, human dignity.
One of the most influential principles is the option for the vulnerable and the poor people. This
principle of Christian social thought emphasizes on the vulnerable and poor sections of the
society that are not able to rise up properly due to the lack of the resources.

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