The role of religious values in shaping social welfare policy.

by | Mar 15, 2023 | sociology

 

 

This week’s reading explores the role of religious values in shaping social welfare policy. How might religious values come into play in shaping programs like SNAP and TANF? What about your own religious values (or, if you do not identify as religious, your personal ethical or spiritual values)? How do those values shape your beliefs about programs like SNAP and TANF?

In the helping field, we often use our knowledge to help others expand their perspective. In response to your peers, discuss some points that may help to shift negative views of social welfare programs. Try to incorporate religious, ethical, or spiritual values to justify those points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

Religious values can be used to shape social welfare policies like SNAP and TANF. Many religious traditions value charity, kindness, mercy, and justice for all people regardless of their faith or socioeconomic status. Therefore, those who adhere to these beliefs often support programs that help the less fortunate in a compassionate manner. For example, SNAP helps millions of individuals and families afford food while TANF provides assistance to low-income households by providing cash assistance as well as other services such as job training and childcare. In addition, many religious groups advocate for greater access to social welfare programs as they view it as an expression of love towards others; this includes caring for those struggling financially due to circumstances beyond their control such as disability or illness.

Sample Solution

Religious values can be used to shape social welfare policies like SNAP and TANF. Many religious traditions value charity, kindness, mercy, and justice for all people regardless of their faith or socioeconomic status. Therefore, those who adhere to these beliefs often support programs that help the less fortunate in a compassionate manner. For example, SNAP helps millions of individuals and families afford food while TANF provides assistance to low-income households by providing cash assistance as well as other services such as job training and childcare. In addition, many religious groups advocate for greater access to social welfare programs as they view it as an expression of love towards others; this includes caring for those struggling financially due to circumstances beyond their control such as disability or illness.

For those who are not religious but have ethical or spiritual values regarding social justice issues, supporting the expansion of access to social welfare programs is likely important because it reflects a commitment towards ensuring basic human rights such helping eliminate food insecurity or poverty in our society. Furthermore, creating meaningful change requires us to look beyond just individual solutions – we must also focus on systemic changes that would ensure equity & fairness within our communities which might include expanding public benefits like Medicaid or increasing funding for public education so everyone has access opportunities regardless of income level etc . Ultimately being able to provide these services with kindness & compassion shows true respect for life’s dignity & worthiness – something which should be respected regardless of one’s personal belief system

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