All over the country, including here in Charleston and surrounding cities, the Occupy Wall Street movement has spread to shocking proportions; and, whether protestors are religious or not, to rally requires a leap of faith.
Occupy Wall Street - and its spinoffs in cities all over the country - is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district. The participants' slogan We are the 99 percent refers to the difference in wealth between the top one percent and the other citizens of nation. They are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the power and influence of corporations, particularly from the financial service sector, and of lobbyists over government.
Now Odyssey Networks tells stories of faith in action, stories that are changing the world. This week, Odyssey released two new video stories about the interfaith community's support of Occupy Wall Street that give a new perspective on the movement and its message.
Over 260 diverse faith communities and leaders have now signed on to a statement of solidarity with the spirit of Occupy Wall Street, girding the month-old movement with a “moral and spiritual statement in support of a new democratic energy," according to Rev. Sr. Minister Dr. Donna Schaper of Judson Memorial Church.
"Our traditions are clear: the impoverishment of the many for the benefit of the few destroys us all," says the statement. The multi-faith coalition of Buddhists, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, and many other traditions, translates and articulates the core message and demand of the worldwide Occupy movement via their common tenets: compassion, mercy, justice, and human dignity.
"There are times we can put our different beliefs aside and come together for a common cause - that is social justice, economic justice," says Rev. Sheldon Hamblin of The Church of the Nativity in Brooklyn, NY.
The interfaith support group has become known by the golden calf rendering carried by men in suits, the symbol of our financial sector's lack of displaying those common faith tenets. The calf makes its way each Sunday afternoon into Zuccotti Park for an inter-faith service, inspirational songs, and prayer vigils. The calf represents the greed and callousness embodied in the famous Wall Street bull statue, reminiscent of the false idol made in a moment of fear and faithlessness while the Israelites wandered the desert in Genesis.
"This is basically a very fundamental moral and ethical issue," says Bhikkhu Bodhi, Chairperson of Buddhist Global Relief. "The question is, what kind of society do we want?"
Alongside this article is a video entitled Occupy Wall Street - Faith on the Street. To view other videos, click here.
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