Restoring right relations among privileged and poor people: A case study of the Center for New Creation
Privileged people can work for restorative justice in their relations with poor and oppressed people. They do this by circumventing their class insulation through mutually respectful new relations with those struggling for their liberation. The author of this article argues for public spaces where oppressed and privileged people come together in conscious ways, to rebalance power relations, learn to bridge differences and work together for social justice. Faith-based organisations, rather than an impediment to democracy, can be a significant site for building such political solidarity. The case study presented here examines an upper middle-class faith community in the 1980s, the Center for New Creation, as it developed a culture based on democratic relations between the powerful and the poor. Its success was rooted in a conscious 'caring for difference' and a sense of personal and collective empowerment and responsibility among its privileged members. Out of this process evolved a new and radical approach to solidarity, called the 'theology of accompaniment'.
Keywords: accompaniment; faith-based politics; social justice organisations; social movements; solidarity
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: George Mason University, USA
Publication date: 01 June 2008
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