Theological Reflection on the Root Causes of Poverty Essay

Parsing out the influences of cultural and structural factors leading to differential behaviors among the poor and nonpoor is a difficult challenge for sociologists concerned with stratification and inequality. This is largely due to the fact that they appear to be so heavily intertwined. Structural and cultural factors reinforce each other in complex ways. Pervasive cultural elements such as ideologies and values are used to frame and interpret existing socio-economic structures and their effects on individuals. Structural forces such as access to resources such as information, education and employment shape cultural views and attitudes as well.

12 – When considering an approach in understanding and teaching the student of poverty both Ruby Payne and Eric Jensen provide insightful strategies and resources. I found both author’s works to be very compatible. Having read very little on teaching and understanding those living in the lap of poverty both books are defiantly thought provoking, while building a good foundation.

As I have read, “individuals leave poverty for one of four reasons: a goal or a vision of something they want to be or have; a situation that is so painful that anything would be better; someone who ‘sponsors’ them (i.e., an educator or spouse or mentor or role model who shows them a different way or convinces them that they could live differently); or a specific talent or ability that provides an opportunity for them.” (Payne, 79) Emphasizing to my congregation that stereotypes need to be broken regarding poverty is essential in educating them. “Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability.” (Payne, 79) The necessity of having emotional resources is what I recognized as important as we posted class discussions this week. Also, working in social services I can recognize the impact that emotional resources have on the impoverished people that I have met. “Emotional resources are the most important of all resources because, when present, they allow the individual not to return to old habit patterns.” (Payne, 17) Educating my church about these aspects can help them become positive emotional resources for residents in the community that face poverty. Educating my church about poverty will allow them to be resources in a way that they were not previously. I believe that education is the first step in empowering people to recognize their impact in helping to reduce poverty.

Money is the life force of all of society. In every aspect, money determines the value of good, services, and even people’s lives. As we breathe air to function, society relies on finances to function. And if society, the unity of humanity, relies on money, than the leaders of society want to limit and control it to withhold their power over humanity. They do this by limiting what can be bought and sold, while also controlling how much different things cost. These limitations allow our leaders to control our money and, through that, our value and influence to society.

Christians do not think money is a bad thing. However, they believe the way money is earned and used is the issue. Most Christians believe that wealth is a gift from God to benefit others. Christians believe that all money belongs to God and he gives them stewardship of his money to use wisely. The Bible teaches, “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24). For Christians this means that they must be careful not to replace their love for God with the love of money.

Over three billion people live on less than two dollars and fifty cents a day. That's almost half the population of mankind. But poverty is not just about not having enough money, it's about not being able to obtain, basic human needs. Around the world people lack such necessities, like clean water, food, suitable clothing, etc. It’s because a person is not well suited to today’s society, it creates a large gap between the fortunate and those who struggle to survive.

There is this idea that the poor are all the same and that they all became poor the same way. This is not true, the amount of information the average person has related to poverty is small, almost a “snapshot” of what is truly happening to the impoverished. Measuring poverty is very difficult because of this, every person’s experience is different which makes it hard to find a way to measure them all the same way. Although some people are born into poverty, many are only impoverished for a small amount of time. Without understanding a person’s past with poverty and their “poverty spells” it is hard to tell how poor they are and what should be done about it. To put a person on a certain spot on the poverty spectrum, not only will their financial value need to be evaluated but also their well-being. If poverty is to be defined correctly, poverty spells must be acknowledged. So that the view America has is not a “snapshot but a movie”

Poverty is “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor” (Dictionary.com, 2017). Based off this definition poverty is a condition that can cause a cascade of cause and effect actions that is detrimental to families and individuals both physically and mentally. Haan, Kaplan, & Camacho (2017) completed a study on the correlation between social and economic status and health in adults in Oakland, CA. They found that the lower the socioeconomic class the higher incidents of diseases and deaths related to chronic diseases (p.1161-1162). Just being without money or little money was not the only indication of health indication, a person living in an area with higher poverty issues

your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the

There are three main arguments believed to be the explanations for the existence and persistence of poverty. The first account is the Dependency-Based Explanation that puts the blame of poverty to the individual or to their cultural background. The Exclusion-Based Explanation and Structural-Based Explanation are the next two which establishes the society that condemns people to poverty.

Money has different meaning for different level of people. Some see money as food, shelter or a roof on their top, however it means pleasure and enjoyment for wealthy group of society. Money has an essential role in shaping societies, it enables the economy to grow and helps people to have better health and education. Furthermore, money has direct relation to inequality. Inequality acers when the wealth is unevenly distributed within the society, in other words the unequal distribution of resources among the people, such as money, education, time and so on. The relationship between money and inequality could be further explained from the findings of Michael Sandel’s argument, money in the form of debt in china, distribution, exchange and consumption of coffee.

Poverty is the lack of the basic needs of life, including food, shelter, clothing and safe drinking water. For a person to live normally, it is important to meet a certain level of physical, social, and emotional needs. People who live in poverty have difficult time to achieve those as they are not welcomed in many places. Because of their low incomes, they have troubles in maintaining their health, hunger, education. Poverty has become a large issue around the world. It is something that many of us know about but we’re not realizing just how big of a problem it is. This paper will include basic information about poverty, its effects, facts and statistics which can make people aware and want to help reduce poverty.

Poverty is a massive issue today, it surrounds all of life’s experiences, and it impacts on the future for people everywhere, and on health everywhere in society. Poverty is not just related to unemployment or

Poverty is a social problem that affects everyone on an economic, political and social level. The problem of human suffering is one that we must combat strategically on many levels. According to the United Nations, “in 2015 more than one billion people around the world live in a state of poverty, lacking the basic goods food, clothing, and shelter that humans need to survive” (“Poverty”). There are a great number of areas that keep individuals poor, such as lack of resources, inadequate income, lack of education, language barriers and the high cost of child care. Being able to work and provide basic necessities is our basic human right and we should not be deprived of these basic human rights that individuals need in order to live satisfying lives. The government has the responsibility of helping individuals in need with the economic assistance to feed, clothe, house, educate, provide health care and decent wages for every individual. They should ensure that individuals have access to resources that will help them build a better future. There are several ways that we can work together to strategically find solutions to end inequality among the poor individuals in our society.

people of God: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of