CST #'s 3 - 7

CST # 3- Rights and Responsibilities

The Catholic Church believes it is very important that everyone in society has the right to the common good, personal responsibility, as well as social rights. The Church further believes that the government should protect and defend the basic rights of each person. During adolescence, teenagers are often disrespected and sometimes given less rights than adults are. Adults often feel that teenagers are lesser than them due to their age and their peer pressured behavior. Teenagers often act in ways that adults do not like. Their peers shape their actions. Thus, peer pressure should be mitigated so that teenagers are more respected by adults and are given more rights and responsibilities.

CST # 4- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Jesus Christ proclaimed that the poor should be treated with respect, dignity, and assistance. In accordance with Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church also proclaims that the less fortunate should be treated adequately. Teenagers and children form life long habits when they are young. Peer pressure sometimes influences these habits to be negative. For example, teenage peer pressure may force one to drink, which may lead to alcoholism, which then may lead to poverty. Thus, the poor should be treated well because many of them have been screwed over by peer pressure. This is another reason as to why the poor should be treated adequately.

CST #5- The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

The fifth principle gives labor priority over capital. The church proclaims that employees must be given rights. Peer pressure sometimes may force teenagers to accept unworkable conditions. For example, teens may be abused by their boss or adults just for being a teenager. Thus, peer pressure from adults must be limited so teenagers have workable conditions.

CST #6-Solidarity

The four gospels call for people within a society to live in harmony and peace based on just principles that include a respect for each person and their own unique cultural roots and ethnicity. Peer pressure influences adolescents and children to ditch their own identity and cultural roots in order to conform to the status quo or to another social group. This is bad because teenagers disrespect themselves by not respecting their ethnicity and their cultural roots. Thus, peer pressure must be ameliorated so that teenagers can retain their cultural roots and their individuality.

CST #7- Care for God's Creation

Humans are called by God to take care of nature and the rest of God’s creations. Peer pressure often influences children and adolescents to not care for God’s creations. For example, a teen may be pressured by a social group to litter or to put salt on a banana slug. Thus, peer pressure must be stopped in order to take care of the earth and the rest of God’s creations.

Second Post Assignment - CST #1 and # 2

Catholic Social Teaching and the Problem of Peer Pressure

Our social justice project is on peer pressure.Peer pressure is when an adolescent or a child's social group influences them to accept or take new values in order to conform to that social groups identity and norms. This pressure is often negative. It encourages deviant behaviour and takes away individuality. Thus we are hoping to present a presentation that will encourage people to see peer pressure as a real problem and work on a way to solve the problem.

CST #1-Life and Dignity of a Human Person

The Catholic Church teaches that each human being is created in the image of God. With this said, the Church leaders preach that it is the responsibility of every human society to make sure that human life is protected from the moment of conception to death. Peer pressure puts societies adolescents and children in danger. Children and adolescents are more inclined to partake in deviant behavior due to the influence of peer pressure. Their participation in deviant behavior, such as drug use or joining a gang, puts their lives at risk and even sometimes puts them in potentially fatal situations. Thus, peer pressure must be prevented so that children and adolescents do not partake in risky behavior that is potentially problematic for their life.

CST#2- Call to Family,Community, and Participation

CST # 2 states that the family should be recognized as the basic unit of society where Catholic Church teachings and values are taught and implemented.Thus, every government must protect,encourage, and support families for the benefit of the entire society. Peer pressure often leads children and adolescents to drift away or disrespect their parents and other members of the family. Thus, adolescent's behavior that arises from peer pressure is detrimental to the family's well being. Since the family's well being is threatened, then the entire society is in trouble. To preserve society and keep family as the basic unit of society, then power of peer pressure must be lessened.

Nick Goldsmith wrote this

Introduction

Peer pressure is the influence a peer group can have or does have over an individual. The peer group can influence this individual to either change his or her attitudes,values,or behaviour in order to conform to the peer group's norms. In other words, it is when a child or an adolescent is willing to drop their identity in order to conform to a social group's expectations and norms. This topic connects to social justice because peer pressure hurts the dignity and individuality of the adolescent and child's soul. It also increases deviant behavior in adolescents and children and often steers them down a rocky road. Thus, we must help our children and adolescents by ridding their culture of peer pressure.

Hi, my name is Nick Goldsmith and I am currently a senior at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA. I am doing a social justice project and it is on peer pressure. I am interested in this topic because I have seen first hand how peer pressure influences adolescents and children. I have mostly seen the negative consequences of peer pressure. Thus, I wanted to do my social project on this topic so I could find solutions to mitigate the powerful influence of peer pressure.