The Diocese of Bath and Wells | Social Justice

What is social justice?

  • Building a just world
  • Building an inclusive Church 

Our responsibilities

To achieve this, there are five responsibilities that it's our duty to uphold as part of the Church community, and which guide our work as a Diocese.    Actions and causes associated with each responsibility are detailed below.

  1. Responsibility for everyone throughout the world
  2. Resposibility for common life at National or Local Government level
  3. Responsibility for helping individuals to reach their full potential
  4. Responsibility for our own actions
  5. Responsibility for the created world

Responsibility for all people throughout the world

  • Campaigning for policies that will help people in all countries to access the basic needs that we take for granted: clean water, shelter, education, health care, adequate food.
  • Working towards Millenium Development Goals
  • Debt relief
  • Helping poorer countries with their fight against major epidemics (e.g. AIDS Malaria)
  • Promoting of more ethical government throughout the world
  • Promoting the adoption of policies that will not discriminate against the less fortunate (e.g. EU trade policies)
  • Supporting campaigns against injustice (e.g. Amnesty International)

Responsibility for our common life at National or Local Government level

  • Housing and homelessness
  • Affordable housing
  • Workplace issues and unemployment
  • Unemployment
  • Helping the long term unemployed back into work
  • Fair treatment of employees
  • Justice and miscarriages of justice
  • Prisoners
  • Work with young offenders
  • Probation

Responsibility for helping individuals to reach their full potential

  • Rural and urban poverty
  • Understanding hidden poverty
  • Supporting community initiatives that will increase community capacity
  • Campaigning for changes that will lift people out of poverty
  • Providing help with budgeting
  • Supporting family life
  • Promoting parenting skills
  • Provision of child care
  • Helping families in difficulties
  • Removing barriers to participation
  • Disability and inclusiveness

Responbility for our own actions

  • Knowing the facts about our own communities - are our opinions based on fact?
  • Fighting prejudice against racial minorities and asylum seekers
  • Racial and cultural differences
  • Integration versus Multiculturalism
  • Issues relating to immigration
  • Support for asylum seekers
  • Fighting prejudice against those who look or act differently 
     

Responsibility for the created world

  • Environment
  • Understanding the issues: the facts, the consequences, personal responsibility
  • Campaigning for changes in national and international policies
  • Making our own lifestyle less damaging to the environment
  • Care of God's creatures: campaigning against cruelty to animals, wild, domestic and agricultural 

 

Contact

David Maggs
Social Justice and Enviroment Advisor 
 email David