What is at the centre? Faith, social work & anarchism

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores Christian anarchist ideas to encourage the reader to consider how to apply these to social work practice. The author contends that social work and the Christian faith have been associated with harmful practices that remain troubling legacies to this day. While social work has sought to distance itself from oppressive constructs, it has done so by becoming secularized, disconnected from any faith-based orientation seeking to help the least of these. By reconsidering Christian anarchism, it may be possible to challenge the notion that faith need be a form of justification for oppression and control, but is rather a liberatory force that can move us all toward an empowering and hopeful future for Christians and other believers that practice social work.