Christian Ethics

Christian Ethics

Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day was born in Brooklyn Heights in 1897, and is known for a number of achievements and activities. She was an American journalist, a social activist, a devout catholic convert and also an anarchist. Dorothy is known for advocating the economic theory of Distributism, and also worked for the Catholic Worker Movement (a nonviolent and pacifist movement that indented to provide aid and support to the needy and the homeless and had a nonviolent direct action on its behalf). She was assisted by Peter Maurin in this regard and the cause is still actively working for the betterment of the world, even after Day's passing away in 1980.

Dorothy Day's Vision and Struggle against materialism, militarism, and racism from a Christian Ethical perspective

Dorothy was a passionate activist, who worked for upholding women rights, economic equality and also rendered efforts for putting an end to racism. She wrote a number of pieces regarding women's right of birth control and free love, as early as 1910 and bluntly opposed the sexual revolution in the 1960s. she supported her opposition with the fact that she has witnessed the adverse effects of a similar sexual revolution that emerged in 1920s, and presented the idea of economic and social equality that was highly alloyed with the traditional Christian view of morality and piety (Coles, 1989).

She opposed militarism and supported peace and love, and believed that removing poverty and suffering would ultimately result in end of war too. She was reported saying: 'We believe in an economy based on human needs', and spent a major part of her life in helping the poor (Day, 1996). She also had the view that core of poverty cannot be understood without spending some time in life like a poor citizen, and only when people understand that true nature and implications of poverty would they be able to find ways of getting rid of it. She courageously opposed warfare and was a staunch supporter of peace and harmony.

Dorothy's interest in economic conditions and the passion to brining economic improvements and peace in the world started in 1932, when a communist group organized Hunger March, and Dorothy was there as a reporter to cover the event. She saw the unemployed people marching with placards, and strongly felt that the society has become numb and needs an immediate change. In order to achieve the goal, she joined Peter Maurin, who lived like a monk and had the aim of brining social change in the society. The first practical step in this regard was publishing of a tabloid, The Catholic Worker, which was basically a religious paper with the writer discussing radical social changes, resenting support for workers and addressing the issues of industrialization and growth of cities, and also provided suggestions for brining improvement in the situation (Larson, 2006).

As Dorothy was a converted Catholic, she had strong affiliation with religion and all her writings and social movements reflect that. She was basically an atheist, who neither believed in God nor ...