Social Witness

As Chris­tians, we are called to wit­ness to the love, jus­tice, and peace­able com­mu­nity of the Gospel. Here are a few con­texts in which we do that, fol­lowed by our guid­ing creed.

Pres­by­ter­ian Church (USA)
The Advi­sory Com­mit­tee on Social Wit­ness Pol­icy
Com­pas­sion, Peace, and Jus­tice (CPJ)
Pres­by­ter­ian Min­istry at the United Nations
Wash­ing­ton D.C. Office
Pres­by­ter­ian Health, Edu­ca­tion, and Wel­fare Asso­ci­a­tion (PHEWA)
Pres­by­ter­ian Voices for Justice

A social creed for the 21st century

We Churches of the United States have a mes­sage of hope for a fear­ful time. Just as the churches responded to the harsh­ness of early 20th Cen­tury indus­tri­al­iza­tion with a prophetic “Social Creed” in 1908, so in our era of glob­al­iza­tion we offer a vision of a soci­ety that shares more and con­sumes less, seeks com­pas­sion over sus­pi­cion and equal­ity over dom­i­na­tion, and finds secu­rity in joined hands rather than massed arms. Inspired by Isaiah’s vision of a “peace­able king­dom,” we honor the dig­nity of every per­son and the intrin­sic value of every crea­ture, and pray and work for the day when none “labor in vain or bear chil­dren for calamity” (Isa­iah 65:23). We do so as dis­ci­ples of the One who came “that all may have life, and have it abun­dantly” (John 10:10), and stand in sol­i­dar­ity with Chris­tians and with all who strive for jus­tice around the globe.

In faith, respond­ing to our Cre­ator, we cel­e­brate the full human­ity of each woman, man, and child, all cre­ated in the divine image as indi­vid­u­als of infi­nite worth, by work­ing for:

• Full civil, polit­i­cal and eco­nomic rights for women and men of all races.
• Abo­li­tion of forced labor, human traf­fick­ing, and the exploita­tion of children.
• Employ­ment for all, at a family-sustaining liv­ing wage, with equal pay for com­pa­ra­ble work.
• The rights of work­ers to orga­nize, and to share in work­place deci­sions and pro­duc­tiv­ity growth.
• Pro­tec­tion from dan­ger­ous work­ing con­di­tions, with time and ben­e­fits to enable full fam­ily life.
• A sys­tem of crim­i­nal reha­bil­i­ta­tion, based on restora­tive jus­tice and an end to the death penalty.

In the love incar­nate in Jesus, despite the world’s suf­fer­ings and evils, we honor the deep con­nec­tions within our human fam­ily and seek to awaken a new spirit of com­mu­nity, by work­ing for:

• Abate­ment of hunger and poverty, and enact­ment of poli­cies ben­e­fit­ing the most vulnerable.
• High qual­ity pub­lic edu­ca­tion for all and uni­ver­sal, afford­able and acces­si­ble healthcare.
• An effec­tive pro­gram of social secu­rity dur­ing sick­ness, dis­abil­ity and old age.
• Tax and bud­get poli­cies that reduce dis­par­i­ties between rich and poor, strengthen democ­racy, and pro­vide greater oppor­tu­nity for every­one within the com­mon good.
• Just immi­gra­tion poli­cies that pro­tect fam­ily unity, safe­guard work­ers’ rights, require employer account­abil­ity, and fos­ter inter­na­tional cooperation.
• Sus­tain­able com­mu­ni­ties marked by afford­able hous­ing, access to good jobs, and pub­lic safety.
• Pub­lic ser­vice as a high voca­tion, with real lim­its on the power of pri­vate inter­ests in politics.

In hope sus­tained by the Holy Spirit, we pledge to be peace­mak­ers in the world and stew­ards of God’s good cre­ation, by work­ing for:

• Adop­tion of sim­pler lifestyles for those who have enough; grace over greed in eco­nomic life.
• Access for all to clean air and water and healthy food, through wise care of land and technology.
• Sus­tain­able use of earth’s resources, pro­mot­ing alter­na­tive energy sources and pub­lic trans­porta­tion with bind­ing covenants to reduce global warm­ing and pro­tect pop­u­la­tions most affected.
• Equi­table global trade and aid that pro­tects local economies, cul­tures and livelihoods.
• Peace­mak­ing through mul­ti­lat­eral diplo­macy rather than uni­lat­eral force, the abo­li­tion of tor­ture, and a strength­en­ing of the United Nations and the rule of inter­na­tional law.
• Nuclear dis­ar­ma­ment and redi­rec­tion of mil­i­tary spend­ing to more peace­ful and pro­duc­tive uses.
• Coop­er­a­tion and dia­logue for peace and envi­ron­men­tal jus­tice among the world’s religions.

We—individual Chris­tians and churches—commit our­selves to a cul­ture of peace and free­dom that embraces non-violence, nur­tures char­ac­ter, trea­sures the envi­ron­ment, and builds com­mu­nity, rooted in a spir­i­tu­al­ity of inner growth with out­ward action. We make this com­mit­ment together—as mem­bers of Christ’s body, led by the one Spirit—trusting in the God who makes all things new.