Religious Attitudes to Rich and Poor In British Society

Rich
1. Having more money than you need to provide basic necessities.
Poor
1. Not having enough money to provide basic necessities.
How Do People Become Rich?
1. Win the lottery.
2. Inheritance.
3. Marrying rich spouse.
4. Gifts.
5. Successful investments.
6. Good paying jobs.
  1. Talent eg. footballer/musician.
  2. Work long hours.
Why Are People Poor?
1. Unemployment.
2. Poorly paying jobs.
3. Wasteful spending habits eg. alcohol/drugs.
4. Debt (credit cards/mortgage).
5. Laziness.
Religious Attitudes to Rich & Poor
1. Most accept that there will always be rich and poor people.
2. Teach equality, each person is valued and shown equal respect,
3. It is how they obtained the wealth that is important.
4. Spiritual riches are more important.
5. It's what they do with their wealth that matters.
6. Expect rich people to use their wealth to help others (donating to charities).
7. Christianity
  1. Given talents which shouldn't be wasted.
  2. "The love of money is the root of all evil."
  3. Wealth is God given they should show stewardship in how they use it.
8. Buddhism
  1. Buddha left a wealthy life for a poorer one
  2. Wealth leads to selfishness and craving which cannot lead to happiness.
  3. Monks/Nuns are respected for giving up money and possessions.
Poverty Trap - Lacking the money or resources to be able to get out of poverty.
Overcoming Poverty
1. Education/Training
  1. Courses in basic literacy and numeracy.
  2. Vocational courses.
  3. Apprenticeships.
  4. College maintenance allowance.
2. Councelling
  1. Young People - connexions.
  2. Adults - citizens advice service.
3. Government Help
  1. Minimum wage.
    1. Pros
      1. Protects workers from exploitation.
      2. Protects British workers from some foreign workers who are willing to work for much less (often illegal).
      3. Workers cannot challenge their pay.
      4. Religious
        Fairness - fair work deserves fair pay
    2. Cons
      1. People may often lose jobs at age 18 to be replaced with a younger worker so they can pay less.
        At 18 they may have same responsibilites at 22 y/o.
        Company might be unable to afford it.
    3. Excessive Salaries
      1. Salary is very high in relation to the job being done. eg. footballer.
      2. People are doing more valuable jobs eg. nurse and getting paid much less.
      3. Argued that they have worked hard to get there and should use their talent.
        If one country won't pay the salary the talented person will move elsewhere where they will be paid more.
  2. Unemployment/child benefits.
  3. Tax credits.
  4. State pension.
Who is responsible for the poor?
1. State (benefits/minimum wage) - Helps provide fairer payment, lifting people out of poverty.
  1. Discourages employers as productions costs are pushed up.
  2. Social workers.
  3. People to advise the poor about options.
  4. Providing housing for rent.
2. Charity
  1. Both long and short term.
  2. Entirely separate from government.
  3. Collect and re-issue clothes and other household goods..
3. Family
  1. Many families will help each other but some people become poor due to family breakdowns.
The National Lottery
1. All main religions except Christianity forbid gambling.
  1. Earn money without doing honest work, encourages laziness.
2. Money should be spent on necessities not gambling for more.
3. More people become poorer and addicted in comparison to winners (who are very few).
4. Many cannot cope with sudden riches.
5. Just a bit of fun.
6. Affordable tickets.
7. No one forced to do it.

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Religious Attitudes to Rich and Poor In British Society

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	Created by 10jgorman about 9 years ago