Child Labor and Ethics: A Sociological and Biblical Perspective

This sociology essay delves into the ethical challenges presented by child labor, examining the issue through both sociological and biblical lenses. The essay begins by highlighting the prevalence of child labor in various contexts, including major corporations, and its detrimental effects on children's health, education, and overall well-being. Drawing upon biblical verses from Corinthians, Genesis, and Psalms, the author explores the moral and spiritual implications of child labor, emphasizing the importance of parental responsibility, the sanctity of childhood, and the right to education. The essay argues that child labor is unethical because it deprives children of their fundamental rights, hinders their cognitive development, and exposes them to various health risks. The analysis emphasizes that children are gifts from God and must be nurtured and protected, not exploited for labor. The essay concludes by underscoring the need for intervention and the importance of protecting children's rights through education and ethical practices. This assignment is available on Desklib, a platform providing AI-powered study tools and resources for students.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY
Section One
The ethical challenge of underage labor or child labor has been widespread in various
countries and organizations nowadays. According to the critics, these challenges have been
observed in major large companies like Apple where they deployed children to work in their
Foxconn factory in China (Radfar et al., 2018). Through these forms of child labor, the health
standards of children might deteriorate and their parents use them as their rights to make them
work. This practice might assist parents to overcome economic burdens in the family but it will
permanently create a challenge for them in their future. They are paid less and made to work in
factories for long hours that damage their cognitive power of studying s well.
Section Two
Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I
seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for
the children.(Corinthians 12: 14)
This Biblical verse can be found in the Corinthians. Here Jesus addressed all the parents
to think about the value of their children. He has also given the reminder to all the parents about
their responsibilities towards their children. The relationship between the children and parents
should not be like that of using each other for economic assets. Rather the feeling of love should
be there between a child and his parents (Radfar et al., 2018). Jesus strongly hated the idea of
using the children for labor works. It is because children are budding flowers and they must be
given the time so they can flourish at the exact age and find their ways to earn.
Here, it must be remembered that Jesus Christ Himself came to the earth as a child. He
was born as the son of Virgin Mary. Jesus believed that children are the reflections of God. They

2SOCIOLOGY
were meek and innocent as a lamb. It takes time to be mature and it only happens after a certain
age. The concept of the child labor has been discussed in the King James Version of the Bible
several times (Johnson Jr et al., 2018). The manifestation of God is only seen through the child
and this is the only truth in the society. This is why making a child subject to hard labor is quite
unethical from all perspectives as it suggest (Apple, 2015). Children are born, brought up and
made ready to struggle against the dark world. Jesus believed that there is a certain age for
everything.
Otherwise, they cannot flourish with their full expertise. The first thing that a child
should be subjected to is education. Unless a child is educated properly, he or she will not be
able to know about all the things in the world. They will not be able to make the differences
between right and wrong, ethical and unethical (Johnson Jr et al., 2018).
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but
when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
This verse of Bible is also taken from Corinthians (13:11). It suggests the fact that thre is
a specific time for everything in the lifespan of human beings. It can never be expected that a
child will understand or define all mature things. The sense of maturity will develop after a a
certain age. When a person grows into adulthood, he or she will definitely put away all these
childish things and behave like a gentleman (Hindman & Hindman, 2014). Then he will
understand the utility of labor in life. Otherwise it is quite absurd expect that a person will act
like a matured man and rise protests if he is paid less for his labor. This is the policy that many
unethical organizations take to utilize the children in labor work (George, 2017).

3SOCIOLOGY
“This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every
man child among you shall be circumcised”.
This is another verse from the Bible that talks about the importance of children in the
social structure. Through child labor, the children are directly put into the harsh realities of life.
This verse is taken from Genesis 17:10. This verse speaks of the fact that all the children in the
society must be treated thoroughly because they are in need of education and nurture from the
very first day of their life (Hindman & Hindman, 2014). Children will always need the proper
guidance through the nurturing process. Otherwise, the overall growth of children would never
happen.
“Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him”. (Psalm 127:3).
This Biblical verse is taken from Psalm. This speaks of the fact children are the gifts of
God for all the families. If families think their children are burdensome for them or simply a
liability, it is better not to give birth to a child (Putnick & Bornstein, 2015). The process of
giving birth to a child and not being able to manage his upbringing is completely scornful act
according to the Almighty Jesus (Stock, 2016).
Section Three
The use of the Bible verse has provided the readers with opportunities to think about this
unethical issue deeply. This is definitely something very unethical and challenging. It needs the
intervention of external forces and Biblical verses are best external forces as it seems to be. This
question of child labor or underage labor is hated in the perspectives of the Christian worldview
(Putnick & Bornstein, 2015). Therefore, it has been criticized by Jesus Himself many times and

4SOCIOLOGY
advised everyone to show love and respect to children since they represent God in their purest
form.
All these Biblical verses have been able to highlight on the spectrum of underage labor.
The lines of some of these verses have definitely attributed to the need of protecting the rights of
children and providing them with the opportunities for education. Education is the primary right
of all the children and it should not be suppressed by engaging them with labor. Otherwise, it
will be very hard for them to grow their cognitive skills. The child labor will pose a barrier to
their overall development and lead them to be exposed to all kinds of diseases if they have to
work in the factories. Jesus Christ always advised people to shower children with love and
affection as they are buds of future society.

5SOCIOLOGY
References
Apple, M. W. (2015). Education as God wants It: Gender, labour and home schooling.
In International Perspectives on Home Education (pp. 286-299). Palgrave Macmillan,
London.
George, A. (2017). Children’s Perceptions of the Role of Biblical Narratives in Their Spiritual
Formation. Langham Monographs.
Hindman, H. D., & Hindman, H. (2014). The world of child labor: An historical and regional
survey. Routledge.
Johnson Jr, E. C., Beraldi, F., Broecker, E., Brown, E., & Maslow, S. (2018). The Business Case
for Lawyers to Advocate for Corporate Supply Chains Free of Labor Trafficking and
Child Labor. Am. UL Rev., 68, 1555.
Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2015). Is child labor a barrier to school enrollment in low-
and middle-income countries?. International journal of educational development, 41,
112-120.
Radfar, A., Asgharzadeh, S. A. A., Quesada, F., & Filip, I. (2018). Challenges and perspectives
of child labor. Industrial psychiatry journal, 27(1), 17.
Stock, B. (2016). The integrated self: Augustine, the Bible, and ancient thought. University of
Pennsylvania Press.