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