ABSTRACT
Hunger, starvation and the extremes of deprivation – as well as the relative forms of these – present massive ethical issues for all and not just religious educators. Many NGOs are religious-based and together with secular and governmental agencies work tirelessly to achieve a world in which such living horrors do not exist. Such basic human rights are about meeting the most fundamental human needs. But the right to development, as we shall see, extends beyond the ‘mere’ right to survival, into areas familiar to educators in the United Kingdom – covering social and cultural, moral and spiritual development as well as more physical needs. With increasing world population, however, the right to development, for individuals and peoples, often clashes – both in rich, developed countries of the northern hemisphere and in poorer, developing countries in the southern hemisphere – with other issues, notably those of environmental protection, the protection of biodiversity and sustainable development. All provide important educational material for the religious educator wanting to make a genuine contribution to citizenship.
