Economic Justice & Globalization

Introduction

The UUA’s 1964 Poverty General Resolution states that “poverty, in the midst of plenty, [is] intolerable to the religious conscience and incompatible with our principles of economic justice.”

Working for a just society is central to our faith—a faith based in the creation of justice and peace here on earth and among the members of our shared world community. The UUA seeks an economically just society and world in which government and private institutions promote the common economic good and are held accountable; all people have equal opportunity to care for themselves and their families; and individuals take responsibility for the effects of their actions on their own and others' lives.

While economic globalization has helped some people attain higher standards of living, its benefits have been inequitably distributed and have not reached many people around the world, including in the United States. Unitarian Universalism’s vision of the world as an interconnected web challenges us to turn from self-serving individualism toward a relational sense of ourselves in a global community, and toward practices that help create economic structures designed to serve the common good.

History

In his “Sermon on Poverty,” UU minister Theodore Parker discussed the causes of poverty: the natural or organic cause emerging from geography, or from want of power or body or mind of the people; political suppression, which serves to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few; and social causes such as discrimination based on race.

Parker’s analysis of poverty clearly indicates his realization of the need, not for charity, but for systemic change. He once said, “The old poverty is parent of new poverty…Poverty will not be removed till the causes thereof are removed…we need both palliative care and remedial justice.” He went on to suggest specific remedies, such as tenements for the poor at low rent, enabling the poor to purchase food at low prices, and finding and creating jobs for them. (From The Prophetic Imperative, Richard Gilbert)

The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America (UUA), through its annual General Assembly (GA) and its Board of Trustees, has supported economic justice in eighteen resolutions since the merger of the Unitarians and Universalists in 1961.

Why We Act

“The central task of the religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of our own lives and the lives of others. Once felt, it inspires us to act for justice.” Mark Morrison-Reed

• UU Social Justice Statements on Economic Justice
• 2003 General Assembly Statement of Conscience: Economic Globalization
• 2000 General Assembly Statement of Conscience: Economic Injustice, Poverty, and Racism: We Can Make a Difference!
• Economic Justice Statements Summary
• 2000 UUA General Assembly Award Winning Social Justice Sermon:
  Skinner Sermon Presentation: Why No Living Wage? by Ginger Luke, Director of Religious Education, River Road Unitarian Church

Take Action

• Congregational Implementation of Economic Globalization S.O.C.— The 2003 Statement of Conscience on Economic Globalization has moved many congregations to get educated and do what they can to disengage from the harmful effects of globalization.
  
  Many report hosting showings of the video Trading Democracy, a PBS documentary by Bill Moyers. More and more congregations are buying free trade coffee and using socially responsible shopping guides and websites. The UUA Committee on Socially Responsible Investing has received a steady increase of inquiries from congregations seeking ways to put their investments to work for social justice through socially-responsible investing.
  
  For a full report see Congregational Implementation of Economic Globalization S.O.C.
  
  Contact Susan Leslie, Director of the Office for Congregational Advocacy and Witness, at sleslie@uua.org or (617) 948-4607 to learn about what other congregations are doing and to share your congregation’s story!
   
• Congregation-Based Community Organizing (CBCO)—There are approximately 133 CBCOs across the country conducting successful campaigns for living wages, health care for undocumented workers, funding for public education and more. Over 100 UU congregations currently participate in these multi-faith coalitions. See http://www.uua.org/programs/justice/cbco.html for more information.
   
• RESULTS—RESULTS is not a typical poverty relief organization like Oxfam, Care, or Save the Children. RESULTS has a different mission—to create the POLITICAL WILL to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. RESULTS volunteers lobby Congress for policy changes, programs, and funding to shift the priorities of our nation to the creation of domestic and foreign policy that prioritizes human needs and innovative programs that give power to the world’s least represented people.
  
  For more information on the UUA/RESULTS partnership, visit http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/results/

UU Resources

• UUs for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC)
• UUA Committee on Socially Responsible Investing
• Congregation-Based Community Organizing
• UUA/RESULTS Partnership
• UUA Washington Office
• Commission on Social Witness Study Guide on Economic Globalization
• Commission on Social Witness Study Guide on Economic Injustice, Poverty, and Racism

Other Resources

Advocacy

• RESULTS
• Bread for the World

Globalization and Fair Trade

• United for a Fair Economy
• SERRV International
• Co-op America’s Fair Trade Alliance
• Fair Trade Resource Network

Domestic Human Needs

• Coalition on Human Needs
• The Urban League
• Children’s Defense Fund
• Center for Community Change
• USAction

Labor and Worker Justice

• Interfaith Worker Justice
• "Why Unions Matter"
• ACORN

Unitarian Universalist Association
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