Catholic Social Thought Assignment: Explanation Of The Concept And Principles

Question

Task: Write a feature article as a personal reflection explaining your own experiences of the principles of Catholic Social Thought and their meaning.
First, you will need to state, define and explain your understanding of 3 or 4 of the principles of Catholic Social Thought that we cover in the unit (400-500 words).
Next, explain, with examples, how the principles you have chosen are evident in a community that you belong to and participate in (this community can be a virtual one) (600-700 words)

Answer

Introduction
Definition of Catholic Social Thought: The concept of Catholic social thought explored in the present report on catholic social thought assignment has been considered as a catholic doctrine in respect to the dignity of human beings and the common good in society. The essence of social justice has been clearly depicted in the concept of social thought (catholic) and it is essential for maintaining equality in human rights in the society. Four essential principles of Catholic social thought are principle of human dignity, the principle of solidarity, Principle of subsidiarity and the principle of common good (Tablan, 2015).

Importance of Social Thought (catholic)
According to the catholic social view, human beings are representatives of Almighty and all human beings in the world having equal basic rights including living with own dignity, elimination of oppressions and living together. Catholic social teaching says that desire for god has been written in the heart of human beings and all people are having relation with the almighty (Wolcott, 2018). We all human beings are responsible for each other in respect to the personal development and this is why principles require to be followed. The common good of the society would help to develop unity among different human beings in the society. The relationship between community and self can be easily developed based on considering four principles.

Explanation of social thought (catholic) and Principles
The catholic social thought assignment examines the words of Anderson, (2019) that the application of catholic social thought is worldwide andhere human beings have been considered as representatives of almighty and this is why equality and dignity have been considered here. Four basic principles of catholic social thoughts have been explained in details below.

Principles of Human Dignity
Dignity of people is considered as basic principles of catholic social thought as a human being has been considered as an individual in this concept (Himes, 2019). According to this principle discussed in this section of catholic social thought assignment, human beings are representatives of the Almighty and dignity cannot be compromised. Social injustice has been identified while basic dignity of human beings has been violated including consideration of discrimination policy in terms of learning, paying lower amount of wages and so on.

Principles of common Good
The term common good has been considered in respect to the political, economic and social situations. Hence, the political environment would help to enhance social development, oppression would be eliminated in regarding economic status and social interactions has to be developed (Donovan, 2019). Decisions in social living can only be accepted while decisions would respect others in the society. Herein the case scenario of catholic social thought assignment, the relationship between self and community is also explained in-depth. According to the principles Social Thought (catholic), community influences the well-being of individuals since the background of the individuals and the environment in which they grow up, the people whom they interact with inn their community frames their personality and mindset, thus influencing their professional and personal development significantly. In most cases, the principles and habits that people exhibit are in continuation with the same that they encounter in their community.

What is the role of principles of subsidiarity in the case scenario of catholic social thought assignment?
The principle of subsidiarity examined in the context of catholic social thought assignment focuses on the distance among decision makers and those have been affected by decisions. The decision making process can be developed while closeness among team members has been increased. As per this principle, delegation to the higher authority can be made while issues are unmanageable by middle and lower level authority. This principle helps to eliminate oppression of human beings in respect to the economic status (Carson & Flood, 2017).

Principles of solidarity
The principle of solidarity helps to fulfil commitments of human beings effectively and it implies that individuals tend to commit themselves towards a common good. In terms of Christian point of view, the principle is very popular as it helps to adopt firm decisions regarding social and political views. Based on the principle of solidarity, it has been identified that personal decisions affect the entire society and hence it can be concluded that self and community are related to each other (Sisonet al., 2016).

Personal Reflection (How principles have been chosen) on the concept explored in the catholic social thought assignment
Considering learning community of students, it can be stated that all students are having equal rights in respect to the maintenance of dignity irrespective of castes, cultures and creeds. Students group has been created for achieving a common goal and hence, it is clear that common good is the focus of learning group of students. As per my point of view discrimination policy regarding teaching and learning process is needed to prohibit for developing performance of learning group of students. All students in a group have dignity and they would share their common interest to each other for attaining common objectives. Considering the principle of subsidiarity, it can be said that decision-making process of each student is needed to be considered equality for reaching a final decision. I believe that in case of learning group, team performance is essential and for developing team performance equal importance is needed to be given on each student.

The interrelationship between self and community is essential for enhancing performance of the group. The principle of solidarity reveals that personal decisions have a direct effect on the entire society. In case of enhancing efficiency, level of a learning community of students, the self-performance as well as group performance is important and this is why the relationship between community and self is essential. As per my point of view, catholic social thought has been considered as creation of peace in the society. Human dignity clearly says that we need to consider that we all are brother and sister in the society. Hence, I would suggest that in case of learning group, students need to create a sense of equality and dignity at first and it would help to enhance group cohesiveness of a particular group. The concept of solidarity has directly focused on the social teaching and it is essential to develop in the group of students. The social teaching and learning process would enhance efficiency level of students and the learning community would achieve their success. The personal development of students within the group can be easily ensured on the basis of the group performance. Hence, in the case of social growth of human beings, the importance of catholic social thought cannot be denied.

I believe that participation of students in the learning group can be easily developed by developing human dignity. The dignity of work is also important for enhancing group performance in a community. Hence, considering the overall analysis done herein catholic social thought assignment, it can be stated that the care of community environment is needed to be developed by students for enhancing their group performance. The positive community environment would help to enhance growth of performance of learning community and on the other hand, the adverse community environment would deteriorate the growth of the community. As per my point of view, learning community can create value to the society by enhancing their unity and effective performance. Students have participated in a community considering common interest and hence team performance in the community can ensure community growth. Based on the overall discussion, it has been identified that catholic social thoughts can be implemented in a broad sense for analysing economic social and political issues

Conclusion
On the basis of the above discussion within this catholic social thought assignment, it has been identified that in case of enhancing community development and enhancing human respect in the society, catholic social thought has a significant role. It cannot be considered as ideology and in lieu of that catholic social thought can be considered as careful reflection on the critical realities of life of human beings. This concept can be used in wider sense from family issues to internal problems and the significance of this concept is gradually increasing throughout the world.

References
Anderson, R. T. (2019). Catholic social thought assignment Catholic Thought and the Challenges of Our Time. Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, 42(1).

Carson, P. J., & Flood, A. T. (2017).Catholic social teaching and the duty to vaccinate. The American Journal of Bioethics, 17(4), 36-43.

Donovan, E.M., (2019). Catholic Social Teaching and Neo-Abolitionism: Tearing down the House of the Rising Sun. Clev. St. L. Rev., 67, 321.

Himes, K.R., (2019). Catholic Social Teaching, Economic Inequality, and American Society. Journal of Religious Ethics, 47(2), 283-310.

Sison, A. J. G., Ferrero, I., &Guitián, G. (2016). Human dignity and the dignity of work: Insights from Catholic social teaching. Business Ethics Quarterly, 26(4), 503-528.

Tablan, F. (2015). Catholic social teachings: Toward a meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(2), 291-303.

Wolcott, G. (2018). The Rehabilitation of Adam Smith for Catholic Social Teaching. Journal of Business Ethics, catholic social thought assignment 149(1), 57-82.