On the contrary; that’s part of the problem. Receiving charity should not be conditioned upon – or even perceived to be conditioned upon – allowing oneself to be exposed to religious proselytizing. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Government shirking its responsibility to provide for the general welfare and allowing religious institutions to take up that slack should be seen as a violation of the separation between church and state.
Comment on Grocery stores should have food banks
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
This is why I feel good churches need to be supported as they are normally the ones bankrolling this kind of thing, anything that human being requires to survive should be provided free of charge in my opinion. The fact that we still want to make a buck off of human suffering is a failure of humanity as a species
grue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Actually if you took a look at how many of them are set up, the vast majority of them do not require you to attend church services. And are held at completely separate times service, typically only requireing some form of identification.
grue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s still generally provided in a building festooned with religious iconography, and if you are inclined to be grateful for the help then your gratitude is directed towards a religious institution.
In other words, at the very least it makes the recipients more favorably inclined towards that religion than they would have otherwise been, had the charity been performed by an ideologically-neutral entity.
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I feel like you’re just trying to come up with a reason why it’s bad because of religious institution is involved, instead of looking at what the institution is providing and judging it based on the quality of the service and how essential it is to impoverished communities.
jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
I’m a member of a church that runs a large food pantry. Even with lots of donations, grants, and steeply discounted food, it still takes a lot of money, resources, and manpower (volunteers) to make it happen. Our client count is at an all time high and steadily growing. A food pantry is not a “business” you really want to see grow but I’m glad it’s there for people who need it.
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
That’s basically what I’m saying, we should not need food banks, but it is good that they are there for those who need them.
Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
Churches in concept are amazing. They are a place for people to gather and learn about morals and ethics and such, to bond with the community. And then there is(maybe) free food after service where you can eat and chat with other people.
And the other services they can provide, like food banking, homeless help, counseling, community space, being a safe space, a refuge with resources. I’m glad there are some institutions doing it. I hope they are the snowball that triggers the avalanche, but so many churches are money vacuums draining their communities :(
I would love to see more churches climb to the top and better their commuities. I choose to be hopeful. One step at a time :)
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I think you failed to understand what churches do…
True Mega Churches tend to be nothing but griffs, but you should try the old school brick and mortar, pews made of wood, kind.
In fact religious groups in general typically are the ones getting the most done on charity work.
Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
What did I fail to understand? I said some churches are doing the work of charity and that I hope the many churches that don’t (the griffs) will follow the example.
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
My bad, maybe I failed to understand something… Sorry.
CosmicTurtle@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s important to know that food insecurity is not a money problem. It’s a political one.
We have the funds, logistics, technology to solve food insecurity for everyone on the planet today. The reason we don’t is politics.
HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I keep trying to tell people that a post scarcity Society is not this ridiculous utopian fiction, it could be the reality today, no exaggeration, if billionaires not apply the logic that their power means nothing if they can’t abuse people