Oxfam Australia’s website homepage does not hold back from providing its viewers with as many opportunities as possible to become involved in their campaigns, whether it involves writing letters to clothing companies asking them to take responsibility for the workers in their overseas production factories as in their Labour Rights campaign or sponsoring a team in their Trailwalker event which raises money to fight world poverty. The website is easy to navigate and provides more ways to “Get Active” on every new page, in addition to promoting socially conscious decisions people can start making immediately. It is essentially a motivational website designed to provide people with the information they may require to become involved while also presenting the prospect of doing so in a light that is very community orientated which, should someone feel the desire to become part of something bigger, would certainly be very appealing.
This idea of community is legitimised by the fact that Oxfam Australia is indeed part of the “global movement” of Oxfam, however the way that fact is presented on the home page, or the fact that it is presented on the homepage at all, markets it as a selling point for recruits and in doing so directly demonstrates the effect of globalisation within the realm of social justice groups. It suggests that it’s not good enough anymore for an organisation to be fighting a cause independently, it has to be part of some global collective. In reality it is fair to say that collaboration between organisations worldwide (or divisions of the same organisation) in an effort to further the cause, whatever it might be, is a positive thing and can arguably provide results faster – after all, two heads are better than one. However, when this collaboration deviates from being used as a practical means of achieving results and becomes a marketing tool, it suggests that the focus has shifted and social justice has given way to recruitment. The increasingly global nature of Oxfam and such organisations is reflective of the trend in religion, which we see represented in the increase in Pentecostalism in India for example (Thomas, 3).
One of the key aspects of globalisation today is the use of media, which has become a tool Oxfam and religion share. Each year Oxfam Australia sponsors the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala which in return runs the event like a telethon, screening segments featuring comics talking about the work of Oxfam and asking for donations, all while the phone number flashes below them. This action clearly depicts Oxfam Australia’s stature as an organisation that is well aware of what it can achieve through use of the media and in essence demonstrates its capability as a business, which is typically not how one thinks of a charity. This once again sheds light on the similarities shared between modern religion and Oxfam Australia, as bigger Pentecostal churches like Hillsong are also run like a business (Ferguson, np). It is evident that Oxfam also know how to use publicity to their advantage in that as part of their Labour Rights campaign they name several large global sporting companies and call on them to address the rights of their workers, but also mention that there are several smaller, lesser-known companies that equally need to address the issue, however they are not named. This could be for any number of reasons but the most obvious is because everyone knows the large sporting companies and if they receive enough bad publicity they will be forced to act, rendering the strategy of Oxfam, if that is indeed their strategy, a solid one.
Despite the similarities Oxfam Australia and indeed Oxfam international share with modern, globalised religion, there exists a fundamental difference between them – Oxfam is a secular organisation. Although the organisation that is now Oxfam Australia originally began as a church-affiliated organisation, Oxfam is not. Regardless of this lack of religious influence it continues to provide aid to all manner of those in need, not discriminating against any race or religion. This demonstrates that no correlation needs to necessarily exist between religion and social justice in order for the efforts of social justice to be sustainable. This is in contrast to Jo Ellen Green Kaiser’s opinion that social justice needs religion to avoid losing momentum (np). Secularisation of charitable organisations such as Oxfam is the best possible step they could have taken, as it is evident that more often than not religious groups hold certain biases and presuppositions and will not relinquish them, which could certainly negatively influence the aid given by such groups and to whom they give it to.
Oxfam’s decision to not subscribe to a particular religious denomination, thus freeing them to take on campaigns helping all varieties of people from all religious backgrounds with no bias, presents them as a secular version of a truly pluralist organisation. They don’t preach and try to convert the native people of the countries to which they provide aid; they allow them to practice their religion freely, which is the epitome of a pluralist society. In this regard Oxfam is setting a prime example for religious organisations and denominations the world over; here’s hoping they heed the message.
Despite Oxfam Australia’s obviously modern, globalised, business-like structure and willingness to use the media to its advantage, it is apparent that overall the organisation fosters positive ideals and is obviously doing very beneficial work. In addition, Oxfam’s lack of religious influence ironically provides the greatest step possible towards the acceptance of all people’s religions, and in doing so renders it a secular yet pluralistic hybrid of an organisation, which may seem like a contradiction of terms but may just be the necessary way of thinking to increase acceptance and diversity worldwide – values all people should be striving for, secular or otherwise.
List of Works Cited:
Ferguson, Adele. “God’s Millionaires.” Trinity Foundation. 26 May 2005. 27 March 2009
Kaiser, Jo Ellen Green. “Why Social Justice Needs Religion.” Zeek. December 2007. 27
March 2009
Thomas, Pradip. “Christian Fundamentalism and the Media in South India.” Media
Development: Fundamentalisms Revisited 2007/1. (2007): 1-14.
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