Sex differences in cognition are widely studied in the current
scientific literature. Biological and genetic differences in
combination with environment and culture have resulted in the cognitive differences among males and females. Among biological factors, hormones such as testosterone and estrogen
may play some role mediating these differences. Among differences of
diverse mental and cognitive abilities, the largest or most well known
are those relating to spatial abilities, social cognition and verbal skills and abilities.
Various
researchers have conducted studies to determine the differences between
males and females and their abilities within their short-term memory.
For example, a study conducted by Lowe, Mayfield, and Reynolds (2003)
examined sex differences among children and adolescents on various
short-term memory measures. This study included 1,279 children and
adolescents, 637 males and 642 females, between the ages of 5 and 19.
They found that females scored higher on two verbal subtests: Word
Selective Reminding and Object Recall, and males scored higher on the
Memory for Location and Abstract Visual Memory subtests, the key spatial
memory tasks. In two different studies researchers have found that
women perform higher on verbal tasks and men perform higher on spatial
tasks (Voyer, Voyer, & Saint-Aubin, 2016). These findings are
consistent with studies of intelligence with regards to pattern, females
performing higher on certain verbal tasks and males performing higher
on certain spatial tasks (Voyer, Voyer, & Saint-Aubin, 2016). Same
results have been also found cross culturally. Sex differences in verbal short-term memory have been found regardless
of age even among adults, for example a review published in the journal
Neuropsychologia which evaluated studies from 1990 to 2013 found greater female verbal memory from ages 11–89 years old.
Working memory
There
are usually no sex differences in overall working memory except those
involving spatial information such as space and object. A 2004 study
published in the journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology found significantly higher male performance on four visuo-spatial working memory. Another 2010 study published in the journal Brain and Cognition found a male advantage in spatial and object working memory on an n-back test but not for verbal working memory. Similarly another study published in the journal Human Brain Mapping found no sex differences in a verbal n-back working memory task among adults from ages 18–58 years old. There was also no sex differences in verbal working memory among a study of university students published in the Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences. However, they still found greater male spatial working memory in studies published in the journals Brain Cognition and Intelligence. Also, even though they found no sex differences in verbal working
memory, researchers have found lower brain activity or thermodynamics in
the prefrontal cortex of females which suggested greater neural efficiency and less effort for the same performance. Researchers indicate females might have greater working memory on tasks that only relies on the prefrontal cortex. However, in another study of working memory, where the goal was to
detect sex differences under high loads of working memory, males
outperformed females under high loads of working memory. The authors of
the study state: "Results indicated sex effects at high loads across
tasks and within each task, such that males had higher accuracy, even
among groups that were matched for performance at lower loads". A 2006 review and study on working memory published in the journal European Journal of Cognitive Psychology also found no sex differences in working memory processes except in a double-span task where females outperformed males. There have also been no sex differences found in a popular working memory task known as n-back among a large number of studies.
Long term memory
Studies
have found a greater female ability in episodic memory involving verbal
or both verbal and visual-spatial tasks while a higher male ability
that only involves complex visual-spatial episodic memory. For example, a study published in the journal Neuropsychology
found that women perform at a higher level on most verbal episodic
tasks and tasks involving some or little visual-spatial episodic memory. Another study published the following year found that women perform at a
higher level in verbal and non-verbal (non-spatial visual) episodic
memory but men performed at a higher level in complex visual-spatial
episodic memory. A review published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science
by researcher Agneta Herlitz also conclude that higher ability in women
on episodic-memory tasks requiring both verbal and visuospatial
episodic memory and on face-recognition tasks, while men have higher
abilities for episodic memory, where visual-spatial skills of high
complexity are required.
Sex differences in semantic memory have also been found with a
higher female ability which can be explained by a female advantage in
verbal fluency. One other study also found greater female free-recall among the ages 5–17.
In another study, when using multiple tests for episodic memory, there were no differences between men and women. A similar result was also found among children from 3 to 6 years old. As for semantic memory related to general knowledge and knowledge of
facts from the world. That is, in most areas of cognition, men show
higher results on semantic memory.
Sex differences in executive functions
There
has not been enough literature or studies assessing sex difference in
executive functioning, especially since executive functions are not a
unitary concept. However, in the ones that have been done, there have
been differences found in attention and inhibition.
Attention
A 2002 study published in the Journal of Vision found that males were faster at shifting attention from one object to another as well as shifting attention within objects. 2012–2014 studies published in the Journal of Neuropsychology
with a sample size ranging from 3500 to 9138 participants by researcher
Ruben C Gur found higher female attention accuracy in a neurocognitive
battery assessing individuals from ages 8–21. A 2013 study published in the Chinese Medical Journal found no sex differences in executive and alerting of attention networks but faster orientation of attention among females. A 2010 study published in Neuropsychologia also found greater female responsiveness in attention to processing overall sensory stimulation.
Inhibition and self-regulation
A 2008 study published in the journal Psychophysiology found faster reaction time to deviant stimuli in women. The study also analyzed past literature and found higher female
performance in withholding social behavior such as aggressive responses
and improper sexual arousal. Furthermore, they found evidence that women were better at resisting
temptation in tasks, delaying gratification and controlling emotional
expressions. They also found lower female effort in response inhibition in equal
performance for the same tasks implying an advantage for females in
response inhibition based on neural efficiency. In another study published in 2011 in the journal Brain and Cognition, it was found that females outperformed males on the Sustained Attention to Response Task which is a test that measures inhibitory control. Researchers have hypothesized that any female advantage in inhibition
or self-regulation may have evolved as a response to greater parenting
responsibilities in ancestral settings.
Sex differences in processing speed
Sex differences in processing speed has been largely noted in literature. Studies published in the journal Intelligence have found faster processing speed in women. For example, a 2006 study published in Intelligence by researcher Stephen Camarata and Richard Woodcock found faster processing speed in females across all age groups in a sample of 4,213 participants. This was followed by another study published in 2008 by researchers
Timothy Z Keith and Matthew R. Reynolds who found faster processing
speed in females from ages 6 to 89 years old. The sample also had a number of 8,818 participants. Other studies by Keith have also found faster processing speed in females from ages 5 to 17. In one recent study, groups of men and women were tested using the
WAIS-IV and WAIS-R tests. According to the research results, there were
no differences in processing speed between men and women.
Sex differences in semantic perception
Studies
of sex differences in semantic perception (attribution of meaning) of
words reported that males conceptualize items in terms of physical or
observable attributes whereas females use more evaluative concepts. Another study of young adults in three cultures showed significant sex
differences in semantic perception (attribution of meaning) of most
common and abstract words. Contrary to common beliefs, women gave more
negative scores to the concepts describing sensational objects, social
and physical attractors but more positive estimations to work- and
reality-related words, in comparison to men This suggests that men favour concepts related to extreme experience
and women favour concepts related to predictable and controllable
routines. In a light of the higher rates of sensation seeking and
deviancy in males, in comparison to females, these sex differences in
meaning attribution were interpreted as support for the evolutionary
theory of sex.
Sex differences in spatial abilities
Rubik's cube puzzle involving mental rotation
Sex differences in spatial abilities are widely established in literature. Males have much higher level of performance in three major spatial tasks which include spatial visualization, spatial perception and mental rotation. Spatial visualization elicits the smallest difference with a deviation
of 0.13, perception a deviation of 0.44 and mental rotation the largest
with a deviation of 0.73. Another 2013 meta-analysis published in the journal Educational Review found greater male mental rotation in a deviation of 0.57 which only grew larger as time limits were added. These male advantages manifests themselves in math and mechanical tasks
for example significantly higher male performance on tests of geometry, measurement, probability, statistics and especially mechanical reasoning. It also manifests and largely mediates higher male performance in arithmetic and computational fluency All of these math and technical fields involve spatial abilities such
as rotation and manipulation of imagined space, symbols and objects.
Mental rotation has also been linked to higher success in fields of
engineering, physics and chemistry regardless of gender. Spatial visualization on the other hand also correlate with higher math achievement in a range of 0.30 to 0.60. Furthermore, male advantage in spatial abilities can be accounted for by their greater ability in spatial working memory. Sex differences in mental rotation
also reaches almost a single deviation (1.0) when the tasks require
navigation, as found in one study with participants who used Oculus Rift in a virtual environment. A 2009 study using data from the BBC
of over 200,000 people in 53 nations showed that in all nations
examined, men outperformed women in both mental rotation and in angle
judgment, and that these differences increased with measures of gender
equality. A 2019 meta-analysis of the literature from 1988 to 2018 likewise found
the same results at both the behavioral and neural levels, though the
effect sizes were larger for large-scale spatial ability than
small-scale spatial ability.
Even though most spatial abilities are higher in men, object
location memory or the ability to memorize spatial cues involving
categorical relations are higher in women. But it depends on the type of stimulus (object) and the task. In some
conditions, men's productivity is higher (for example, when "male"
objects are used), in other conditions, women's productivity may be
higher or there are no differences between the sexes. Higher female ability in visual recognition of objects and shapes have also been found.
Sex differences in verbal abilities
Like
spatial ability, sex differences in verbal abilities have been widely
established in literature. There is a clear higher female performance on
a number of verbal tasks prominently a higher level of performance in speech production which reaches a deviation of 0.33 and also a higher performance in writing. Studies have also found greater female performance in phonological processing, identifying alphabetical sequences, and word fluency tasks. Studies have also found that females outperform males in verbal learning especially on tests such as Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Verbal Paired Associates. It has also been found that the hormone estrogen increases ability of speech production and phonological processing in women, which could be tied to their advantages in these areas. Overall better female performance have also been found in verbal fluency which include a trivial advantage in reading comprehension while a significantly higher performance in speech production and essay writing. This manifests in higher female international PISA scores in reading and higher female Grade 12 scores in national reading, writing and study skills. Researchers Joseph M. Andreano and Larry Cahill have also found that
the female verbal advantage extends into numerous tasks, including tests
of spatial and autobiographical abilities.
In a fairly large meta-analysis that analyzed 165 different
studies, a very small difference of 0.11 standard deviations was found.
The authors of this study postulate: "The difference is so small that we
argue that gender differences in verbal ability no longer exist."
A recent meta-analysis of 168 studies, 496 effect sizes, and
355,173 participants found a small but robust female advantage in both
verbal fluency and verbal episodic memory.
Current literature suggests women have higher level of social cognition. A 2012 review published in the journal Neuropsychologia found that women are better at recognizing facial effects, expression processing and emotions in general. Men were only better at recognizing specific behaviour which includes anger, aggression and threatening cues. A 2012 study published in the journal Neuropsychology
with a sample of 3,500 individuals from ages 8–21, found that females
outperformed males on face memory and all social cognition tests. In 2014, another study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex
found that females had larger activity in the right temporal cortex,
an essential core of the social brain connected to perception and
understanding the social behaviour of others such as intentions,
emotions, and expectations. In 2014, a meta-analysis of 215 study sample by researcher A.E. Johnson and D Voyeur in the journal Cognition and Emotion found overall female advantage in emotional recognition. Other studies have also indicated greater female superiority to discriminate vocal and facial expression regardless of valence, and also being able to accurately process emotional speech. Studies have also found males to be slower in making social judgments than females. Structural studies with MRI neuroimaging has also shown that women have bigger regional grey matter volumes in a number of regions related to social information processing including the Inferior frontal cortex and bigger cortical folding in the Inferior frontal cortex and parietal cortex Researchers suppose that these sex differences in social cognition predisposes males to high rates of autism spectrum disorders which is characterized by lower social cognition.
A recent study that aimed to identify gender differences in
social cognition did not show significant differences, with few
exceptions. The study authors state: "The presence of sex differences in
social cognition is controversial". Results showed no significant sex differences in affective and
cognitive ToM, in the recognition of emotional facial expressions, or in
the ability to identify and regulate one's own emotions.
Empathy is a large part of social cognition and facilitates its cognitive components known as theory of mind. Current literature suggests a higher level of empathy in women compared to men.
A 2014 analysis from the journal of Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews reported that there is evidence that "sex differences in empathy have phylogenetic and ontogenetic roots in biology and are not merely cultural byproducts driven by socialization." Other research has found no differences in empathy between women and
men, and suggest that perceived gender differences are the result of
motivational differences.
Jesus casting out the money changers from the Temple by Giotto, 14th century
Christian views on poverty and wealth vary. At one end of the spectrum is a view which casts wealth and materialism
as an evil to be avoided and even combated. At the other end is a view
which casts prosperity and well-being as a blessing from God.
Many taking the former position address the topic in relation to the modern neoliberal capitalism that shapes the Western world. AmericantheologianJohn B. Cobb
has argued that the "economism that rules the West and through it much
of the East" is directly opposed to traditional Christian doctrine. Cobb
invokes the teaching of Jesus that "man cannot serve both God and Mammon
(wealth)". He asserts that it is obvious that "Western society is
organized in the service of wealth" and thus wealth has triumphed over
God in the West. Scottish theologian Jack Mahoney has characterized the sayings of Jesus in Mark 10:23–27 as having "imprinted themselves so deeply on the Christian community
through the centuries that those who are well off, or even comfortably
off, often feel uneasy and troubled in conscience."
Some Christians argue that a proper understanding of Christian
teachings on wealth and poverty needs to take a larger view where the
accumulation of wealth is not the central focus of one's life but rather
a resource to foster the "good life". Professor David W. Miller
has constructed a three-part rubric which presents three prevalent
attitudes among Protestants towards wealth. According to this rubric,
Protestants have variously viewed wealth as: (1) an offense to the
Christian faith, (2) an obstacle to faith, and, (3) the outcome of
faith.
Wealth and faith
Wealth as an offense to faith
According
to historian Alan S. Kahan, there is a strand of Christianity that
views the wealthy man as "especially sinful". In this strand of
Christianity, Kahan asserts, the day of judgment is viewed as a time
when "the social order will be turned upside down and[...] the poor will turn out to be the ones truly blessed."
David Miller suggests that this view is similar to that of the third century Manicheans
who saw the spiritual world as being good and the material world as
evil, viewing the two as being in irreconcilable conflict with each
other. Thus, this strand of Christianity exhorts Christians to renounce
material and worldly pleasures in order to follow Jesus. As an example,
Miller cites Jesus' injunction to his disciples to "take nothing for the
journey."
Wealth as an obstacle to faith
According to David Miller, Martin Luther, the father of the Lutheran
tradition, viewed Mammon (or the desire for wealth) as "the most common
idol on earth". Miller cites Jesus' encounter with the rich ruler as an example of when wealth is an obstacle to faith. According to
Miller, it is not the rich man's wealth per se that is the obstacle but
rather the man's reluctance to give up that wealth in order to follow
Jesus. Miller cites Paul's observation in 1st Timothy
that, "people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and
into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction." Paul continues on with the observation that "the love of money is the root of all evil." Miller emphasizes that "it is the love of money that is the obstacle to faith, not the money itself."
Jesus looked around and said to his
disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children,
how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
Kahan cites Jesus' injunction against amassing material wealth as an
example that the "good [Christian] life was one of poverty and charity,
storing up treasures in heaven instead of earth."
Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break
in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
— Matthew 6:19–21, NRSV
Jesus counsels his followers to remove from their lives those things
which cause them to sin, saying "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it
off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to go with two hands
into hell, where the fire never goes out." In order to remove the desire for wealth and material possessions as an
obstacle to faith, some Christians have taken vows of poverty.
Christianity has a long tradition of voluntary poverty which is
manifested in the form of asceticism, charity and almsgiving.
Kahan argues that Christianity is unique because it sparked the
beginning of a phenomenon which he calls the "Great Renunciation" in
which "millions of people would renounce sex and money in God's name."
Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas
wrote "Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much
as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things."
In Roman Catholicism, poverty is one of the evangelical counsels. Pope Benedict XVI distinguishes "poverty chosen" (the poverty of spirit proposed by Jesus), and "poverty to be fought"
(unjust and imposed poverty). He considers that the moderation implied
in the former favors solidarity, and is a necessary condition so as to
fight effectively to eradicate the abuse of the latter. Certain religious institutes and societies of Apostolic life also take a vow of extreme poverty. For example, the Franciscan orders have traditionally foregone all individual and corporate forms of ownership; in another example, the Catholic Worker Movement advocates voluntary poverty. Christians, such as New Monastics, may choose to reject personal wealth and follow an ascetic lifestyle, in part as a protest against "a church and public that embraces wealth, luxury and ostentatious power."
Wealth as an outcome of faith
One
line of Protestant thinking views the pursuit of wealth as not only
acceptable but as a religious calling or duty. This perspective is
generally ascribed to Calvinist and Puritan theologies, which view hard work and frugal lifestyles as spiritual acts in themselves. John Wesley, the father of the Methodist
tradition, was a strong proponent of gaining wealth, according to his
famous "Sermon 50," in which he said, "gain all you can, save all you
can and give all you can." John Wesley and his Methodists were noted for their consistently large
contributions to charity in the form of churches, hospitals and schools.
Included among those who view wealth as an outcome of faith are modern-day preachers and authors who propound prosperity theology,
teaching that God promises wealth and abundance to those who will
believe in him and follow his laws. Prosperity theology (also known as
the "health and wealth gospel") is a Christian religious belief whose
proponents claim the Bible teaches that financial blessing is the will of God for Christians. Most teachers of prosperity theology maintain that a combination of faith,
positive speech, and donations to specific Christian ministries will
always cause an increase in material wealth for those who practice these
actions. Prosperity theology is almost always taught in conjunction
with continuationism.
Prosperity theology first came to prominence in the United States during the Healing Revivals in the 1950s. Some commentators have linked the genesis of prosperity theology with the influence of the New Thought movement. It later figured prominently in the Word of Faith movement and 1980s televangelism. In the 1990s and 2000s, it became accepted by many influential leaders in the charismatic movement and has been promoted by Christian missionaries throughout the world. It has been harshly criticized by leaders of mainstream evangelicalism as a non-scriptural doctrine or as an outright heresy.
Precursors to Christianity
Professor Cosimo Perrotta
describes the early Christian period as one which saw "the meeting and
clash of three great cultures: the Classical, the Hebrew (of the Old
Testament) and the Christian." Perrotta describes the cultures as having
radically different views of money and wealth. Whereas the Hebrew
culture prized material wealth, the Classical and Christian cultures
either held it in contempt or preached indifference to it. However,
Perrotta points out that the motivation of the Classical and Christian
cultures for their attitudes were very different and thus the logical
implications of the attitudes resulted in different outcomes.
Perrotta characterizes the attitude of the Jews as expressed in the
Old Testament scriptures as being "completely different from the
classical view." He points out that servile and hired work was not
scorned by the Jews of the Old Testament as it was by Greco-Roman
thinkers. Instead, such work was protected by biblical commandments to
pay workers on time and not to cheat them. The poor were protected from
being exploited when in debt. Perrotta asserts that the goal of these
commandments was "not only to protect the poor but also to prevent the
excessive accumulation of wealth in a few hands." In essence, the poor
man is "protected by God". However, Perrotta points out that poverty is
not admired nor is it considered a positive value by the writers of the
Old Testament. The poor are protected because the weak should be
protected from exploitation.
Perrotta points out that material wealth is highly valued in the
Old Testament; the Hebrews seek it and God promises to bless them with
it if they will follow his commandments. Joseph Francis Kelly writes that biblical writers leave no doubt that
God enabled men such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Solomon to achieve
wealth and that this wealth was a sign of divine favor. However, Kelly
also points out that the Old Testament insisted that the rich aid the
poor. Prophets such as Amos castigated the rich for oppressing the poor
and crushing the needy. In summary, Kelly writes that, "the Old
Testament saw wealth as something good but warned the wealthy not to use
their position to harm those with less. The rich had an obligation to
alleviate the sufferings of the poor."
New Testament
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Jesus
explicitly condemns excessive love of wealth as an intrinsic evil in
various passages in the Gospels, especially in Luke (Luke 16:10–15 being an especially clear example). He also consistently warns of the
danger of riches as a hindrance to favor with God; as in the Parable of the Sower, where it is said:
And the cares of this world, and
the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in;
it chokes the Word, which becomes unfruitful
— Mark 4:19, NRSV
Jesus makes Mammon
a personification of riches, one in opposition to God, and which claims
a person's service and loyalty as God does. However, Jesus rejects the
possibility of dual service on the part of humanity, stating that no one
can serve both God and Mammon.
In the story of Jesus and the rich young man,
the young ruler's wealth inhibits him from following Jesus and thereby
attaining the Kingdom. Jesus comments on the young man's discouragement
thus:
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Those who
heard this were astonished, "Who then can be saved?", they asked. Jesus
replied, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
— Matthew 19:23–27, NRSV
In the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain,
Jesus exhorts his hearers to sell their earthly goods and give to the
poor, and so provide themselves with "a treasure in heaven that will
never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys" (Luke
12:33); and he adds "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Luke 12:34)
In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus tells the story of a rich man who decides to rest from all his labors, saying to himself:
And I will say to myself 'You have
plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and
be merry.' But God spoke to him, saying 'You fool! This very night your
life will be required of you. Then who will get all that you have
prepared for yourself?'
— Luke 12:16–20
Jesus adds, "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:21)
Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10) is an example of storing up heavenly treasure, and being rich toward
God. The repentant tax collector Zacchaeus not only welcomes Jesus into
his house but joyfully promises to give half of his possessions to the
poor, and to rebate overpayments four times over if he defrauded anyone
(Luke 19:8).
Luke strongly ties the right use of riches to discipleship; and
securing heavenly treasure is linked with caring for the poor, the naked
and the hungry, for God is supposed to have a special interest in the
poor. This theme is consistent with God's protection and care of the
poor in the Old Testament. Thus, Jesus cites the words of the prophet
Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1–2) in proclaiming his mission:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord.
— Luke 4:18–19
The Gospel of Luke expresses particular concern for the poor as the
subjects of Jesus' compassion and ministry. In Luke's version of the Beatitudes, the poor are blessed as the inheritors of God's kingdom (Luke 6:20), even as the corresponding curses are pronounced to the rich (Luke 6:24–26).
God's special interest in the poor is also expressed in the theme
of the eschatological "great reversal" of fortunes between the rich and
the poor in The Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55):
He has shown the might of his arm:
and has scattered the proud, in the conceit of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich has sent empty away.
— Luke 1:51–53
It is also expressed in Jesus' repeated use of the phrase "many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first" and similar figures of speech.
In the Parable of the Wedding Feast,
it is "the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame" who become God's
honored guests, while others reject the invitation because of their
earthly cares and possessions (Luke 14:7–14).
Acts of the Apostles
Luke's
concern for the rich and the poor continues in Acts with a greater
focus on the unity of the nascent Christian communities. The two famous
passages (Acts 2:43–45; Acts 4:32–37), which have been appealed to throughout history as the "normative ideal" of the community of goods
for Christians, rather describe the extent of fellowship (koinōnia) in
Jerusalem community as a part of distinctive Christian identity. Acts
also portrays both positive and negative uses of wealth: those who
practiced almsgiving and generosity to the poor (Acts 9:36; Acts 10:2–4) and those who gave priority to money over the needs of others (Acts 5:1–11; Acts 8:14–24).
Epistles
For Paul, riches mainly denotes the character and activity of God and Christ – spiritual blessings and/of salvation – (e.g., Romans 2:4; Romans 9:23; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Ephesians 1:7–18; Ephesians 2:4–7) although he occasionally refers to typical Jewish piety and Greco-Roman moral teachings of the time, such as generosity (Romans 12:8–13; 2 Corinthians 8:2; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 6:17) and hospitality (1 Timothy 5:10) with warnings against pride (1 Timothy 6:17) and greed (1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Timothy 3:8). 1 Timothy 6:10
seems to reflect a popular Cynic-Stoic moral teaching of the period:
"the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Paul's focus of
generosity is devoted to the collection for the Church in Jerusalem
(Gal. 2.10; 1 Cor. 16.1–4; 2 Cor 8.1 – 9.15; Rom. 15.25–31) as an
important symbol of unity between Jewish and gentile believers with an
appeal to material and spiritual reciprocity. It is also noteworthy that
Paul's teaching in 1 Tim 6:17 implies there were rich believers in the
Early Church.
A concept related to the accumulation of wealth is Worldliness,
which is denounced by the Epistles of James and John: "Don't you know
that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever
wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (Ja
4.4). The first letter of John says, in a similar vein: "Do not love the
world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is not in him" (1 Jn 2:15).
The Epistle of James also stands out for its vehement
condemnation of the oppressive rich, who were presumably outsiders to
the Christian community, which mainly consisted of the poor. Adopting
the Psalter's
convention of the "wicked rich" and the "pious poor" and adopting its
voice, James indicts the rich with the sins of hoarding wealth,
fraudulently withholding wages, corruption, pride, luxury, covetousness
and murder; and denounces the folly of their actions in the face of the
imminent Day of Judgement.
Revelation
Finally,
the Revelation treats earthly riches and commercial activities with
great ambivalence. While Jesus exposes the true poverty of the Laodicean
church's boast of wealth (3.17–18), he presents himself as the true
source and dispenser of wealth (cf. 2 Cor. 8.13–15). Later, earthly
riches and businesses activities are associated with the sins of
Babylon, the earthly power of evil with self-accorded glory and luxury,
whose fall is imminent (18.1–24). However, the Revelation also portrays
the New Jerusalem with a lavish materialistic description, made of pure
gold decorated with "every kind of precious stone" (21.18–19).
Early Christianity appears to have adopted many of the ethical themes
found in the Hebrew Bible. However, the teachings of Jesus and his
apostles as presented in the New Testament exhibit an "acute sensitivity
to the needs of the disadvantaged" that Frederick sees as "adding a
critical edge to Christian teaching where wealth and the pursuit of
economic gain are concerned.
Alan Kahan points to the fact that Jesus was a poor man as
emblematic of "a revolution in the way poverty and wealth were viewed." This is not to say that Christian attitudes borrowed nothing from
Christianity's Greco-Roman and Jewish precursors. Kahan acknowledges
that, "Christian theology absorbed those Greco-Roman attitudes towards
money that complemented its own." However, as Kahan puts it, "Never
before had any god been conceived of as poor." He characterizes Christian charity as being "different in kind from the generosity praised in the classical tradition."
Kahan contrasts the attitudes of early Christians with those of
classical thinkers such as Seneca. The New Testament urges Christians to
sell material possessions and give the money to the poor. According to
Kahan, the goal of Christian charity is equality, a notion which is
absent in the Greco-Roman attitudes toward the poor.
Cosimo Perrotta characterizes the Christian attitude vis-a-vis
poverty and work as being "much closer to the tradition of the Old
Testament than to classical culture." However, Irving Kristol
suggests that Christianity's attitude towards wealth is markedly
different from that of the Hebrews in the Old Testament. Kristol
asserts that traditional Judaism has no precepts that parallel the
Christian assertion that it is difficult for a rich man to get into
heaven.
Perrotta characterizes Christianity as not disdaining material wealth as did classical thinkers such as Socrates, the Cynics and Seneca and yet not desiring it as the Old Testament writers did.
Patristic era
Many of the Church Fathers
condemned private property and advocated the communal ownership of
property as an ideal for Christians to follow. However, they believed
early on that this was an ideal which was not very practical in everyday
life and viewed private property as a "necessary evil resulting from
the fall of man." American theologian Robert Grant
noted that, while almost all of the Church Fathers condemn the "love of
money for its own sake and insist upon the positive duty of
almsgiving", none of them seems to have advocated the general
application of Jesus' counsel to the rich young man viz. to give away
all of his worldly possessions in order to follow him.
Augustine
urged Christians to turn away from the desire for material wealth and
success. He argued that the accumulation of wealth was not a worthy
goal for Christians.
Although Clement of Alexandria
counselled that property be used for the good of the public and the
community, he sanctioned private ownership of property and the
accumulation of wealth. Lactantius
wrote that "the ownership of property contains the material of both
vices and virtues but communism [communitas] contains nothing but
license for vice."
By the beginning of the medieval era, the Christian paternalist ethic
was "thoroughly entrenched in the culture of Western Europe."
Individualist and materialist pursuits such as greed, avarice, and the
accumulation of wealth were condemned as un-Christian.
Madeleine Gray describes the medieval system of social welfare as
one that was "organized through the Church and underpinned by ideas on
the spiritual value of poverty.
However, the medieval era saw a change in the attitudes of Christians towards the accumulation of wealth. Thomas Aquinas defined avarice not simply as a desire for wealth but as an immoderate
desire for wealth. Aquinas wrote that it was acceptable to have
"external riches" to the extent that they were necessary for him to
maintain his "condition of life". This argued that the nobility had a right to more wealth than the peasantry.
What was unacceptable was for a person to seek to more wealth than was
appropriate to one's station or aspire to a higher station in life. The period saw fierce debates on whether Christ owned property.
The Church evolved into the single most powerful institution in
medieval Europe, more powerful than any single potentate. The Church
was so wealthy that, at one time, it owned as much as 20–30% of the land
in Western Europe in an era when land was the primary form of wealth.
Over time, this wealth and power led to abuses and corruption.
Monasticism
As
early as the 6th and 7th centuries, the issue of property and move of
wealth in the event of outside aggression had been addressed in monastic
communities via agreements such as the Consensoria Monachorum. By the eleventh century, Benedictine
monasteries had become wealthy, owing to the generous donations of
monarchs and nobility. Abbots of the larger monasteries achieved
international prominence. In reaction to this wealth and power, a
reform movement arose which sought a simpler, more austere monastic life
in which monks worked with their hands rather than acting as landlords
over serfs.
At the beginning of the 13th century, mendicant orders such as the Dominicans and the Franciscans
departed from the practice of existing religious orders by taking vows
of extreme poverty and maintaining an active presence preaching and
serving the community rather than withdrawing into monasteries. Francis of Assisi viewed poverty as a key element of the imitation of Christ who was "poor at birth in the manger, poor as he lived in the world, and naked as he died on the cross".
The visible public commitment of the Franciscans to poverty
provided to the laity a sharp contrast to the wealth and power of the
Church, provoking "awkward questions".
Early attempts at reform
Widespread
corruption led to calls for reform which called into question the
interdependent relationship of Church and State power. Reformers sharply criticised the lavish wealth of churches and the mercenary behavior of the clergy. For example, reformer Peter Damian labored to remind the Church hierarchy and the laity that love of money was the root of much evil.
Reformation
The
rising capitalistic middle class resented the drain of their wealth to
the Church; in northern Europe, they supported local reformers against
the corruption, rapacity and venality which they viewed as originating
in Rome.
Calvinism
One school of thought attributes Calvinism with setting the stage for the later development of capitalism in northern Europe. In this view, elements of Calvinism represented a revolt against the medieval condemnation of usury and, implicitly, of profit in general. Such a connection was advanced in influential works by R. H. Tawney (1880–1962) and by Max Weber (1864–1920).
Calvin criticised the use of certain passages of scripture
invoked by people opposed to the charging of interest. He reinterpreted
some of these passages, and suggested that others of them had been
rendered irrelevant by changed conditions. He also dismissed the
argument (based upon the writings of Aristotle)
that it is wrong to charge interest for money because money itself is
barren. He said that the walls and the roof of a house are barren, too,
but it is permissible to charge someone for allowing him to use them. In
the same way, money can be made fruitful.
Puritanism
For Puritans, work was not simply arduous drudgery required to sustain life. Joseph Conforti
describes the Puritan attitude toward work as taking on "the character
of a vocation – a calling through which one improved the world, redeemed
time, glorified God, and followed life's pilgrimage toward salvation." Gayraud Wilmore characterizes the Puritan social ethic as focused on
the "acquisition and proper stewardship of wealth as outward symbols of
God's favor and the consequent salvation of the individual." Puritans were urged to be producers rather than consumers and to
invest their profits to create more jobs for industrious workers who
would thus be enabled to "contribute to a productive society and a
vital, expansive church." Puritans were counseled to seek sufficient
comfort and economic self-sufficiency but to avoid the pursuit of
luxuries or the accumulation of material wealth for its own sake.
The rise of capitalism
In two journal articles published in 1904–05, German sociologist Max Weber
propounded a thesis that Reformed (i.e., Calvinist) Protestantism had
engendered the character traits and values that under-girded modern
capitalism. The English translation of these articles were published in
book form in 1930 as The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber argued that capitalism in northern Europe evolved because the Protestant (particularly Calvinist) ethic influenced large numbers of people to engage in work in the secular world, developing their own enterprises and engaging in trade and the accumulation of wealth for investment. In other words, the Protestant work ethic was a force behind an unplanned and uncoordinated mass action that influenced the development of capitalism.
Weber's work focused scholars on the question of the uniqueness
of Western civilization and the nature of its economic and social
development. Scholars have sought to explain the fact that economic
growth has been much more rapid in Northern and Western Europe and its
overseas offshoots than in other parts of the world including those
where the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have been dominant over
Protestantism. Some have observed that explosive economic growth
occurred at roughly the same time, or soon after, these areas
experienced the rise of Protestant religions. Stanley Engerman asserts
that, although some scholars may argue that the two phenomena are
unrelated, many would find it difficult to accept such a thesis.
John Chamberlain wrote that "Christianity tends to lead to a
capitalistic mode of life whenever siege conditions do not prevail...
[capitalism] is not Christian in and by itself; it is merely to say that
capitalism is a material by-product of the Mosaic Law."
Rodney Stark
propounds the theory that Christian rationality is the primary driver
behind the success of capitalism and the Rise of the West.
John B. Cobb
argues that the "economism that rules the West and through it much of
the East" is directly opposed to traditional Christian doctrine. Cobb
invokes the teaching of Jesus that "man cannot serve both God and Mammon
(wealth)". He asserts that it is obvious that "Western society is
organized in the service of wealth" and thus wealth has triumphed over
God in the West.
The Old Testament
"condemns the practice of charging interest because a loan should be an
act of compassion and taking care of one's neighbor"; it teaches that
"making a profit off a loan is exploiting that person and dishonoring
God's covenant (Exodus 22:25–27)".
It might initially seem like little
is at stake when it comes to interest, but this is an issue of human
dignity. A person is made in God's own image and therefore may never be
treated as a thing. Interest can diminish the human person to a thing to
be manipulated for money. In an article for The Catholic Worker,
Dorothy Day articulated this well: "Can I talk about the people living
off usury . . . not knowing the way that their infertile money has bred
more money by wise investment in God knows what devilish nerve gas,
drugs, napalm, missiles, or vanities, when housing and
employment . . . for the poor were needed, and money could have been
invested there?" Her thoughts were a precursor to what Pope Francis now
calls an "economy that kills." To sin is to say "no" to God and God's
presence by harming others, ourselves, or all of creation. Charging
interest is indeed sinful when doing so takes advantage of a person in
need as well as when it means investing in corporations involved in the
harming of God's creatures.
Much of Saint Thomas Aquinas's theology dealt with issues of social justice.
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by the JesuitLuigi Taparelli in 1840 based on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and given further exposure in 1848 by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati. The idea was elaborated by the moral theologian John A. Ryan, who initiated the concept of a living wage. Father Coughlin also used the term in his publications in the 1930s and the 1940s. It is a part of Catholic social teaching, Social Gospel from Episcopalians and is one of the Four Pillars of the Green Party upheld by green parties worldwide.
Social justice as a secular concept, distinct from religious teachings,
emerged mainly in the late twentieth century, influenced primarily by
philosopher John Rawls. Some tenets of social justice have been adopted by those on the left of the political spectrum.
According to Kent Van Til, the view that wealth has been taken
from the poor by the rich implies that the redistribution of that wealth
is more a matter of restitution than of theft.
According to Pope Benedict XVI,
its purpose "is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here
and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just.... [The
Church] has to play her part through rational argument and she has to
reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice...cannot prevail and
prosper", According to Pope John Paul II, its foundation "rests on the threefold cornerstones of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity". These concerns echo elements of Jewish law and the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and recall the teachings of Jesus Christ recorded in the New Testament, such as his declaration that "whatever you have done for one of these least brothers of Mine, you have done for Me." (Matthew 25:40)
Catholic social teaching is distinctive in its consistent critiques of modern social and political ideologies both of the left and of the right: liberalism, communism, socialism, libertarianism, capitalism, Fascism, and Nazism have all been condemned, at least in their pure forms, by several popes since the late nineteenth century.
Marxism
Irving Kristol posits that one reason that those who are "experiencing a Christian impulse, an impulse toward the imitatio Christi, would lean toward socialism ... is the attitude of Christianity toward the poor. "
Arnold Toynbee
characterized Communist ideology as a "Christian heresy" in the sense
that it focused on a few elements of the faith to the exclusion of the
others. Donald Treadgold interprets Toynbee's characterization as applying to Christian attitudes as opposed to Christian doctrines. In his book, "Moral Philosophy", Jacques Maritain echoed Toynbee's perspective, characterizing the teachings of Karl Marx as a "Christian heresy". After reading Maritain, Martin Luther King Jr.
commented that Marxism had arisen in response to "a Christian world
unfaithful to its own principles." Although King criticized the Soviet
Marxist–Leninist Communist regime sharply, he nonetheless commented that
Marx's devotion to a classless society made him almost Christian.
Tragically, said King, Communist regimes created "new classes and a new
lexicon of injustice."
The Rerum novarumencyclical of Leo XIII (1891) was the starting point of a Catholic doctrine
on social questions that has been expanded and updated over the course
of the 20th century. Despite the introduction of social thought as an
object of religious thought, Rerum novarum explicitly rejects what it calls "the main tenet of socialism":
"Hence, it is clear that the main tenet of socialism, community of
goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures those whom it
would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights
of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the
commonwealth. The first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if
one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses, must be
the inviolability of private property." Rerum novarum, paragraph 16.
The encyclical promotes a kind of corporatism based on social solidarity among the classes with respects for the needs and rights of all.
In the November 1914 issue of The Christian Socialist, Episcopal bishop Franklin Spencer Spalding of Utah, U.S., stated:
The Christian Church exists for the sole purpose of saving the human
race. So far she has failed, but I think that Socialism shows her how
she may succeed. It insists that men cannot be made right until the
material conditions be made right. Although man cannot live by bread
alone, he must have bread. Therefore, the Church must destroy a system
of society which inevitably creates and perpetuates unequal and unfair
conditions of life. These unequal and unfair conditions have been
created by competition. Therefore, competition must cease and
cooperation take its place.
Despite the explicit rejection of Socialism, in the more Catholic countries of Europe the encyclical's teaching was the inspiration that led to the formation of new Christian-inspired Socialist parties. A number of Christian socialist movements and political parties throughout the world group themselves into the International League of Religious Socialists. It has member organizations in 21 countries representing 200,000 members.
Christian socialists draw parallels between what some have characterized as the egalitarian and anti-establishment message of Jesus, who–according to the Gospel–spoke against the religious authorities of his time, and the egalitarian, anti-establishment, and sometimes anti-clerical message of most contemporary socialisms. Some Christian Socialists have become active Communists. This phenomenon was most common among missionaries in China, the most notable being James Gareth Endicott, who became supportive of the struggle of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s and 1940s.
Michael Moore's film Capitalism: A Love Story also features a religious component where Moore examines whether or not capitalism is a sin and whether Jesus would be a capitalist, in order to shine light on the ideological contradictions among evangelical conservatives who support free market ideals.
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ
in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social
conditions. It has been described by proponents as "an interpretation of
Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope,
and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity
through the eyes of the poor", and by detractors as Christianized Marxism. Although liberation theology has grown into an international and
inter-denominational movement, it began as a movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America in the 1950s–1960s. Liberation theology arose principally as a moral reaction to the poverty caused by social injustice in that region. The term was coined in 1971 by the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, who wrote one of the movement's most famous books, A Theology of Liberation. Other noted exponents are Leonardo Boff of Brazil, Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, and Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay. Saint Óscar Romero, former Archbishop of San Salvador, was a prominent exponent of liberation theology, and was assassinated in 1980, during the Salvadoran Civil War; he was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis in 2018.
The influence of liberation theology within the Catholic Church
diminished after proponents using Marxist concepts were admonished by
the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
(CDF) in 1984 and 1986. The Vatican criticized certain strains of
liberation theology – without actually identifying any particular
strain – for focusing on institutional dimensions of sin to the
exclusion of the individual; and for allegedly misidentifying the Church
hierarchy as members of the privileged class.
The number of aid workers attacked has increased from 260 in 2008
to 595 in 2023. For the first 20 years of the AWSD, Afghanistan, South
Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and Syria were consistently the most dangerous
places for aid workers to operate. Between 2013 and 2018, an average of
127 aid workers were killed, 120 injured, and 104 abducted worldwide per
year. In November 2024, the UN reported that 281 aid workers had been
killed that year, making 2024 the deadliest year on record; 175 of the
deaths occurred in Gaza. Additionally the UN stated that 333 aid workers
had been killed thus far in the Gaza war, the highest number recorded in a single crisis.
The most common causes of death among aid workers are shootings
and air strikes, with road travel being particularly dangerous. A large
contributor to violence against aid workers is kidnapping, though most
end in release after negotiations. Motives for attacks on aid workers
are often unknown, but of those that are known the cause is frequently
political.
Background
Recording attacks on humanitarian workers
According to The New York Times, the Aid Worker Security Database
is "widely regarded as an authoritative reference for aid organisations
and governments in assessing trends in security threats." A project of Humanitarian Outcomes, it receives funding from USAID.
Since 1997, it has tracked incidents of violence such as abduction,
killing, serious injury, and sexual assault but not safety incidents
like vehicle crashes or accidental detonations during mine clearing
projects. Aid workers are defined as employees and other staff of
non-profit aid organizations providing humanitarian relief, such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, non-governmental organizations, UNDP, UNRWA, WHO, UNICEF,
and other UN agencies. The database does not track attacks on UN
peacekeepers, election monitors, or employees of advocacy organizations.
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is another database that includes attacks on humanitarian workers in addition to other conflict-related incidents. Insecurity Insight produces monthly Aid in Danger reports that highlight attacks during the month from news media, the AWSD and ACLED.
Legal basis for the protection of humanitarian workers
The legal basis for the protection of humanitarian workers in armed conflicts is contained in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the related Protocols I and II of 1977. These treaties outline the rights and obligations of non-combatants who fulfill the criteria of protected persons
during armed conflicts. These rights include the right to be treated
humanely; to have access to food, water, shelter, medical treatment, and
communications; to be free from violence to life and person, hostage taking, and humiliating or degrading treatment; and the prohibition against collective punishment or imprisonment.
Protected persons include citizens and nationals of countries that are
not a party to the conflict, except if such persons happen to be in the
territory of a belligerent power, which maintains diplomatic relations
with their home states.
While the Geneva Conventions guarantee protection for
humanitarian workers, they do not guarantee access of humanitarian
workers to affected areas: governments or occupying forces may, if they wish, ban a relief agency from working in their area. Médecins Sans Frontières
was created in 1971 with the express purpose of ignoring this
restriction, by providing assistance to populations affected by the Biafran civil war despite the prohibitions of the government of Nigeria.
In addition, the Geneva Conventions do not require that parties
to the conflict guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers. The
Conventions prohibit combatants
from attacking protected persons, and they require occupying forces to
maintain general order. However, the Conventions do not require that
combating parties provide security escorts, for example, when other
factions threaten the safety of protected persons operating in their
area.
In 2003, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1502 giving greater protection to humanitarian workers and treating attacks on them as a war crime. ICRC promotes a framework for Neutral Independent Humanitarian Action (NIHA) to enable differentiated role understanding.
Trends
Accidents
and illnesses contribute only a minority of reported aid worker deaths;
the majority are caused by deliberate violence, most commonly
shootings and air strikes. Road travel is by far the most dangerous context for aid workers, who
can be attacked via ambushes, IEDs, or fake checkpoints. Others include
raids and individual attacks.
A large contributor to violence against aid workers is abduction,
though most are not fatal. On average, foreign aid workers are abducted
for a longer period than local staff due to higher ransom demands from
kidnappers. Previously, abduction was the highest cause of violence, after the number of kidnappings quadrupled between 2002 and 2012.
In 2008, 260 aid workers were attacked, the highest since the AWSD began in 1997. The record increased in 2011 when 308 aid workers were attacked. Between 2013 and 2018, an average of 127 aid workers were killed, 120 injured, and 104 abducted per year. Between 1997 and 2018, the countries with the greatest total number of
attacks on aid workers were Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia,
and Syria. During the Global War on Terror, including the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan, the number of attacks in the Middle East and Central Africa grew. After the CIA used a sham polio vaccination program to locate and kill Osama bin Laden, violence against vaccination aid workers increased.
In 2019, the record for aid workers who were attacked increased again to 483. In 2023, 595 aid workers were attacked. 280 aid workers were killed in
33 countries,163 of which died in Gaza during the first three months of
the Gaza War. The countries with the next highest number of deaths were South Sudan with 34 deaths and Sudan with 25. By November 2024, 281 aid workers had been killed, making 2024 the
deadliest year for aid workers on record. 175 of the deaths occurred in
Gaza. Additionally the UN stated that 333 aid workers had been killed
thus far in the Gaza War, the highest number recorded in a single crisis.
Motives
It
is often hard to ascertain a motive for attacks on aid workers; for
instance, in 55% of the incidents recorded by the AWSD in 2008, the
motive was described as "undetermined".
However, of those that were determined, political motivations have
increased (29% of the determined total in 2003 to 49% in 2008) relative
to economic motivations, or when the victim's status as an aid worker
was only incidental. Aid workers can be targeted for political reasons both directly and by association. Sometimes the humanitarian organisation may be targeted for something
that it has done or a statement it has made, or simply for the delivery
of aid to a population, to whom others do not wish aid to reach. It can also be targeted as a result of being associated as an entity
collaborating with a group or government seen as an enemy, leading
humanitarian organizations to strive be seen as politically independent
and neutral. However, evidence shows that this has little impact and instead that
western aid agencies are perceived as an intrinsic part of western
governments' agendas and not merely associated with it.
Afghanistan reflected this dynamic during the War on Terror
when it was one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian
workers to operate. In 2007, 61% of incidents there were carried out by
criminals and 39% by political opposition groups, but in 2008, 65% of
incidents were the work of armed opposition groups. According to a 2009 report by Humanitarian Outcomes, this increase in
politically motivated attacks may have occurred because Afghan locals
stopped distinguishing between organisations who worked with the US
military and those who did not, with the notable exception of the ICRC.
In remote areas, humanitarian workers sometimes represented the only
accessible western target. However, at least two studies did not find evidence indicating
heightened aid worker insecurity in provinces where the US military was
present.
November 2001 – Eight foreign aid workers were rescued after the Taliban imprisoned them on charges of spreading Christianity.
November 2003 – UNHCR staff person Bettina Goislard was shot dead by a motorcycle-borne gunman while travelling by car in Ghazni.
March 2003 – ICRC staff member Ricardo Munguia was shot and killed in an ambush north of Kandahar.
He was working as a water engineer in Afghanistan and travelling with
local colleague when their car was stopped by unknown armed men. He was
killed execution-style at point-blank range while his colleagues were
allowed to escape. The killing prompted the ICRC to temporarily suspend
operations across Afghanistan.
June 2004 – Five staff working for Médecins Sans Frontières were killed on the road between Khairkhana and Qala e Naw in Badghis
Province, resulting in the complete withdrawal of MSF from Afghanistan.
The names of the murdered staff were: Hélène de Beir, Willem Kwint, Egil Tynaes, Fasil Ahmad and Besmillah.
May 2006 — Two Malteser International workers were killed and one UNICEF worker was injured while driving back from a mission in a UN vehicle near Herat.
May 2006 — Three female Afghan employees of Action Aid and their driver were killed by Taliban in the northern province of Jowzjan.
January 2008– Six people, including at least one aid worker from the USA named Thor Hesla, were killed in the Kabul Serena Hotel attack.
January 2008 – Cyd Mizell, an aid worker with the Asian Rural Life
Foundation, and her Afghan driver were kidnapped in Kandahar. They were
presumed dead. The FBI recovered Mizell's skeletal remains in 2023 after offering a $5 million reward for information.
August 2008 – Three female International Rescue Committee (IRC) workers and their local driver were killed in an ambush as they drove back to Kabul from Logar Province. One was an American national.
October 2009 – Five United Nations staff, two Afghan security
personnel, and an Afghan civilian were killed by three Taliban attackers
in an assault on the Bekhtar Guesthouse in Kabul. Nine other UN staff,
also there working for the presidential election, were wounded.
2010s
March 2010 — Said Anwar was shot and killed by gunmen.
September 2010 — British aid worker Linda Norgrove
and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by the Taliban. Norgrove
died after sustaining injuries from a grenade thrown by US forces
attempting to rescue her.
December 2010 — A German aid worker was killed and an Afghan
colleague was injured on their way to Mazar-i-Sharif by the Taliban.
May 2013 – An ICRC compound in Jalalabad was attacked by a suicide
bomber and gunmen, resulting in the death of a guard and injuries to an
employee.
July 2014 – Two Finnish aid workers with the International Assistance Mission, a Christian medical charity, were shot and killed in Herat by two men on motorbikes. The women were in a taxi when shot.
February 2017 – Six Red Cross members were killed and two were
kidnapped by suspected members of the Islamic State in the northern
province of Jowzjan. The kidnapped members were later released.
September 2017 – A Spanish Red Cross physiotherapist, Lorena Enebral Perez, was killed by one of her patients in Mazar-e Sharif.
December 2019 – Dr. Tetsu Nakamura
and five other staff from Peace Japan Medical Services were shot and
killed on their way to work in Jalalabad. Nakamura had agreed to travel
with security guards after he was warned of a potential attack.
2020s
May 2020 – In the May 2020 Afghanistan attacks,
gunmen targeted the maternity ward of Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul,
run by MSF, killing at least 24 people – including mothers, young
children, and an MSF midwife.
August 2021 — The United States Central Command attacked a crowded residential area in the August 2021 Kabul drone strike. The strike killed 10 members of an Afghan family, including Zemari Ahmadi, an aid worker for Nutrition & Education International
who had applied for refugee status in the US. Initially, the US
justified the strike, stating that Ahmadi was an ISIS-K militant
planning to attack the airport. After an investigation by The New York Times, the US called the strike a "tragic mistake", stating that Ahmadi had not been a threat.
2025
January 2025 – Thirty-four humanitarian workers were arrested by the Taliban.
January 1993 – Three British aid workers from Crown Agents/ UNHCR were ambushed in their vehicle in Zenica. One, Paul Goodall, died and the other two were wounded while fleeing. Three of the gunmen were later killed by security forces; another was arrested but escaped.
July 1993 – Christine Witcutt, a Scottish aid worker from Edinburgh
Direct Aid, was shot and killed by a sniper after delivering supplies to
a Sarajevo hospital.
June 1996 – Three Swiss ICRC workers were killed in an attack on two vehicles on the road between the villages of Rugombo and Mugina in Cibitoke Province, resulting in a withdrawal of the ICRC from Burundi.
December
– An Action Against Hunger vehicle was targeted by shooters in Ruyigi.
Five people, including three female expatriate staff of Action Against
Hunger, were inside the vehicle. One of them, a French psychologist,
died upon arrival at the hospital in Gitega as a result of her injuries. The second victim suffered a gunshot wound. The third expatriate escaped uninjured.
Central African Republic
June 2007 – An MSF logistician was killed when her car was hit by gunfire during an assessment mission near Paoua
November 2009 – Two French aid workers employed by Triangle
Generation Humanitaire were kidnapped in Birao and held for 4 months
before being freed in Darfur.
Chad
May 2008 – The country director of Save the Children UK was shot dead when his car was attacked near Hadjer Hadid.
August 2009 – A logistician working for MSF and his Chadian
assistant were kidnapped in Ade. The Chadian was freed soon afterwards
while the logistician was released a month later.
June 2010 – A logistician working for Oxfam GB was kidnapped in Abéché. He was rescued 10 days later by security forces near the border with Sudan.
Chechnya
December 1996 – Six ICRC workers were killed in an attack on the Novye Atagi hospital. ICRC withdrew all expatriate staff from Chechnya.
August 2009 – Two Chechen aid workers were kidnapped and murdered.
Dagestan
August 2002 – A Dutch MSF worker, Arjan Erkel, was abducted in Makhachkala. He was released 20 months later.
August 1964 – Two UN officials, Jean Plicque and Francois Preziosi, were killed by rebels. Plicque was a member of the ILO, and Preziosi was the first member of UNHCR to be killed in the line of duty.
November 2023 — A humanitarian convoy of eight vehicles was attacked by armed men in the Fizi territory.
Fifteen members from the NGOs Congo Handicap (CH) and Action
Communautaire pour le Développement Durable (ACDD), along with two
humanitarian workers, were kidnapped, and three of the vehicles were set
on fire. The two humanitarian workers were released later that day.
June 2024 – Two aid workers of Tearfund were killed and several injured in an attack on their aid convoy near Butembo.
February 2025 – Three local HEKS/EPER employees were attacked and killed in the Rutshuru Territory of North Kivu. As a result, the Swiss aid organization temporarily suspended all activities in the region.
February 2025 – 49-year-old Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) member
Jerry Muhindo Kavali was shot during an attack on his organization's
base in Masisi. He died two days later in a hospital in Goma.
September 2008 – A nurse and a doctor working for Medecins du Monde were kidnapped in Fadhigaradle village (Somali Region) and taken across the border to Somalia. They were released 4 months later.
August
2024 – Ethiopian Yared Melese, a staff member of ASDEPO (Action for
Social Development and Environmental Protection Organization), was
kidnapped for ransom and killed by a criminal armed group in Dawunt
Woreda.
September 2024 – Plan International member Teklemariam Tarekegn was killed in Debre Mewi, Amhara.
May
2021 – Ethiopian Negasi Kidane, staff member of CISP (International
Committee for the Development of Peoples) was killed by a stray bullet
in Tigray.
June 2021 – Three MSF staff were killed while looking for injured people in the Tigray region.
According to investigators, they were shot by the Ethiopian military
because a commander did not want MSF staff to work in an active combat
zone.
Guinea
September 2000 – Killing of one UNHCR staff member and the abduction of another in Macenta.
December
2000 – Three aid workers were forced out of their vehicle and taken to
an abandoned house where they were shot to death. One aid worker escaped
and accused Indonesian security forces of carrying out the attack.
Iran
February 2022 to May 2023 – Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele was injured while detained on charges of espionage. According to his family and Amnesty International, he was held in "inhumane conditions" equivalent to torture. He was later released in a prisoner exchange.
October 2003 – An attack on the ICRC building killed at least 12 people in Baghdad.
April 2005 – Marla Ruzicka, founder of the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), and her Iraqi translator, Faiz Ali Salim, were killed by a suicide car bombing on Airport Road in Baghdad.
MDA (Magen David Adom) paramedic Amit Mann was a first responder and transported injured people from the Be’eri massacre to the local clinic. She was killed at the clinic by Palestinian gunmen. MDA paramedic Aharon Haimov was killed by Palestinian gunmen while driving an ambulance responding to emergency calls from the battle of Ofakim. Argentinian-Israeli and MDA volunteer Lior Rudaeff was killed during the Nir Yitzhak massacre. His body was kidnapped to Gaza by HAMAS. German-Israeli United Hatzalah member and MDA volunteer Dolev Yehud was killed by HAMAS during the Nir Oz massacre in line of duty. United Hatzalah
reported that four of their volunteers were injured, including an Arab
doctor who was shot and used as a human shield before being rescued by
the IDF.
October 2011 – Two Spanish women who worked for Médecins sans Frontières were kidnapped by gunmen and released in July 2013.
July 2012 – Two Norwegian Refugee Council vehicles were attacked while traveling. A Kenyan driver was killed, and Steve Dennis
and four other international staff were abducted for several days.
After their rescue by a militia, Dennis sued Norwegian Refugee Council
for negligence and was awarded 4.4 million Norwegian kroner.
July — The Israeli military struck 2 Lebanese Red Cross ambulances in Qana with 2 missiles, injuring the 6 workers and 3 patients inside. The 2 ambulances were destroyed, and the Lebanese Red Cross stopped operations and demanded that the IDF ensure their safety.
June – Two Lebanese Red Cross workers were killed during fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam militants at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. The perpetrator and cause of the deaths are disputed.
Lesotho
January 1999 – Irish aid worker Ken Hickey was robbed and murdered.
Madagascar
December
2021 – 23-year-old humanitarian worker Todisoa Andrinirina Fitiavana
was killed in an attack while en route to oversee a food distribution by
the World Food Programme (WFP) in the Amboasary district of southern
Madagascar.
January 2025 – A 73-year-old Austrian aid worker, Eva Gretzmacher,
was kidnapped by gunmen in Agadez city. Gretzmacher lived in the city
for more than 20 years and worked with various organizations.
August 2011 – The United Nations Headquarters in Abuja
was attacked by a suicide car bomber, killing at least 18 people,
injuring dozens, and causing massive devastation to the building itself.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility.
July 2016 – A humanitarian convoy was attacked in Borno State, and a UNICEF worker was injured.
January 2017 – Six aid workers were killed, 8 seriously wounded, and
numerous civilians were killed following a government airstrike on a
refugee camp in Rann, Borno State.
March 2018 — Three humanitarian workers and eight security personnel were killed. Midwives Saifura Khorsa and Hauwa Liman, both working for ICRC, were kidnapped and murdered months later on September 16 and October 16 by Boko Haram. The nurse Alice Loksha, working for UNICEF, was also kidnapped and managed to escape in October 2024 after 6 years in captivity.
October 2024 – Two aid workers were captured and later executed by Boko Haram.
December 2024 – Two aid workers were captured and later executed by
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) near Zari town in Borno
State.
Pakistan
October
2009 – Three United Nations staff killed in a suicide bombing attack
against the office of the World Food Programme in the capital city
Islamabad by the Pakistani Taliban.
March 2010 — Six employees of World Vision were killed and six
severely injured when their office in the Mansehra district was targeted
for "running programs to help women" in the North-West Frontier
Province. 15 gunmen stormed the office, started shooting, threw a bomb
and left.
July 2012 – UN polio vaccine doctor from Ghana was shot in Karachi. His driver was also injured.
December 2012 – A series of attacks occurred against a polio
eradication program, killing five female health workers, including one
teenage volunteer in Karachi and Peshawar.
According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society,
Israeli forces regularly attacked ambulances by firing on them,
assaulting their crews, or preventing them from transporting patients to
hospital. These attacks occurred in various locations including Jabalia, Hableh, Nablus, and Saeer. In January 1988, Israeli forces commandeered an ambulance and used it to transport themselves into Bani Na'im village.
March
2002 – A PRCS ambulance was attacked by the IDF, causing the oxygen
tanks to catch fire. A second ambulance sent to rescue the first was
also attacked. Khalil Suleiman, head of PRCS emergency medical services, was killed and five other ambulance workers from both ambulances were injured.
November 2002 – Iain Hook, an UNRWA project manager from the UK, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper in Jenin. Caoimhe Butterly, an Irish human rights activist, was also shot in the foot.
January
2009 – The UN paused operations in Gaza after the Israeli military
killed two staff in a marked UN vehicle and killed more than 46
Palestinians taking refuge in UN schools.
August 2018 — Abed Abdullah Qotati, a volunteer paramedic with Nabd
Al-Hayat, was shot and killed by the Israeli military along with the
injured protester he was treating near the Gaza—Israel barrier.
January – Two Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) paramedics attempted to rescue Hind Rajab,
a five year old girl who was stranded in a car with her relatives'
bodies after they were killed by an Israeli tank. On February 10, the
paramedics were found dead in their ambulance close to the car
containing the dead bodies of Rajab and her family. According to a Forensic Architecture investigation, the Israeli military is responsible, but they have denied involvement.
April – An Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen
(WCK) aid workers and their Palestinian driver after entering Gaza to
coordinate the transfer of food to a warehouse. After approving the
route of the convoy, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted three
vehicles consecutively with three missiles. WCK accused the IDF of
deliberately targeting the convoy "car by car", and the IDF claimed they
had mistakenly targeted an aid worker they thought was a Palestinian
gunman.
September – Islam Hijazi, director of Heal Palestine, was killed by three Palestinian gunmen near a hospital in Khan Younis.
November – UNRWA reported that 97 of 109 aid trucks entering Gaza were attacked and looted by Palestinian gunmen, causing injuries to staff, near Israeli military installations at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Aid workers, locals, and others stated that Hamas was not involved in the increase in looting, instead attributing it to rival gangs and Israeli targeting of convoy security guards.
November – Israeli strikes killed multiple aid workers from organizations including Save the Children, World Central Kitchen, and Gaza Soup Kitchen
2025
January – WFP reported that the Israeli military fired at least 16 bullets at their aid convoy. The attack was condemned by Cindy McCain on X.
March – The UN reported that the Israeli military attacked their compound in Deir al-Balah, killing a Bulgarian staff member and seriously injuring six other staff. The staff were members of the United Nations Mine Action Service. The UN called for an independent investigation and removed 30% of their international staff from Gaza. Israeli denied responsibility for the attack until April when they
stated an Israeli tank had mistakenly fired on the UN compound. Bulgaria opened an investigation in May for the murder of a person under international protection.
March – World Central Kitchen
reported that the Israeli military attacked one of its food
distribution programs during meal time. The attack killed one of its
volunteers and injured six other people.
March – The bodies of 8 missing PRCS staff were recovered in a mass grave along with their ambulances and the bodies of 6 other emergency responders and an UNRWA worker.The Israeli military said they had targeted Hamas fighters and that the convoy had approached without their lights on. However, video footage showed the Israeli military shooting at the clearly marked emergency vehicles. According to a New York Times investigation, Israeli forces bulldozed the site after the attack. The Rafah paramedic massacre was the deadliest attack on IFRC workers since 2017.
August – The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that the
Israeli air force launched multiple strikes on their headquarters in
Khan Younis. One staff member was killed and 2 were injured in the first
strike. A civilian who attempted to put out the fire was also injured.
The building was struck two more times while staff were leaving.
Rwanda
March 2000 – A Liberian Voluntary Humanitarian was killed in his car in Kigali.
Serbia
May 1999 – Three aid workers, including Steve Pratt, were put on trial for spying in Belgrade.
December 2007 – A nurse and a doctor working for MSF in Bossaso were abducted. After one week, they were released.
January 2008 – A surgeon, a logistician and a driver working for
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) were killed by a roadside explosion while
traveling between the hospital and their base in Kismayo.
October 2008 – A senior programme assistant for the World Food Programme (WFP) was shot and killed as he left a mosque in Merka.
October 2008 – The Hargeisa–Bosaso suicide bombings targeted government and UN buildings, which killed 30 people, including two UN staff.
April 2009 – Two MSF doctors were kidnapped and released 9 days later in Bakool.
2010s
December 2011 – A doctor and a logistician working for MSF were shot to death in their compound in Mogadishu.
October 2017 – Six aid workers were killed and 13 seriously wounded by a vehicle-borne IED in Mogadishu.
2020s
April 2024 – Turkish aid worker Abdurrahim Yörük and a local aid worker (both working for Verenel Derneği) were killed by Al-Shabaab. They were delivering food aid to a displaced persons camp in Mogadishu when a improvised explosive device (IED) killed them.
February 2015—A British aid worker was followed and shot by gunmen while entering the Carter Center office compound in Juba.
July 2016—During the Battle of Juba (2016),
South Sudanese soldiers attacked people, including foreign aid workers,
in a hotel compound. The attack included the killing of a local
journalist, assaults, mock executions, and gang rapes. After an investigation found that UN peacekeepers failed to respond to
calls for help, their commander was removed from his position. In August 2018, 10 soldiers were sentenced to prison for the attack.
March 2017—Six aid workers were killed in an attack that occurred while they were traveling from Juba to Pibor.
April 2018— An aid worker was shot and killed while traveling in a
Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid vehicle. The UN
condemned the attack and urged for the SPLA-IO to release 7 other South Sudan Health Association aid workers who had been held for a month.
2023
November 2023 — An employee of World Vision was killed in Warrap State.
October 2004 – A Save the Children vehicle was hit by an anti-tank landmine in the Um Barro area in North Darfur.
Two members of staff travelling in the vehicle were killed, namely Rafe
Bullick (British, Programme Manager, North Darfur) and Nourredine Issa
Tayeb (Sudanese, Water Engineer).
July 2009 – Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, two GOAL aid workers, were kidnapped in Darfur and held for 4 months. The Sudanese government denied reports that they had paid a ransom to secure her release. After her release, Commins accused GOAL of taking insufficient safety precautions.
October 2009 – A French ICRC delegate was kidnapped and released after 5 months in West Darfur.
December 2023 — Two ICRC staff were killed and 7 injured during an attack on a aid convoy in Khartoum.
May 2024 – Two ICRC drivers were shot and killed in South Darfur.
Three ICRC aid workers suffered serious injuries but survived the
incident.
May 2024 – Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) volunteer Bashir Shuaib was killed.
April 2024 – Three Sudanese World Food Programme staff members named
Osman Ali, Siddig Mohammed, and Yousif Elzain were killed in a remote
area in North Darfur.
June 2024 – Voluntary aid worker Abdul Rahman Al-Hadi Adlan was detained and later killed by Rapid Support Forces in Kabkabiya.
June 2024 – Eight aid workers were killed in North Dafur.
July 2024 – Three UN World Food Programme (WFP) trucks on their way to Central Darfur were attacked and looted by armed men.
December 2024 – Three members of the World Food Programme were
killed in an airstrike that hit their field office in Yabus, Blue Nile
state.
January 2025 – An MSF ambulance was attacked while transporting a woman in labor to a hospital. One female caretaker was shot and died.
February 2025 – Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) volunteer Iman
Abbas was killed by artillery shelling at the Sabreen open market in
Omdurman.
February 2025 – Two aid workers were killed in attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the Zamzam Refugee Camp.
September
2011 – An attack on an ambulance by unknown assailants injured three
rescuers and the wounded patient it was transporting in Homs, one of the rescuers, Hakam Drak Sibai, died due to his wounds.
December 2011 – Two United Nations aid workers and a 3rd colleague were shot to death in Mataban, Hiran. The UN workers, who worked specifically for the World Food Program,
had been monitoring the distribution of food and camps for internally
displaced peoples. United Nations operations in Mataban were temporarily
suspended.
August 2013 – Kayla Mueller was an American aid worker taken captive by ISIS in August 2013 in Aleppo, Syria, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital. In 2015, she was killed in uncertain circumstances.
September 2016 – A convoy of 31 trucks was attacked in Urum al-Kubra while unloading humanitarian aid organized by the UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
According to the UN, Syrian government forces were responsible for the
air strike, barrel bombs, and machine gun fire that killed 14 aid
workers. The Syrian government denied involvement, blaming the attack on
opposition forces.
February 2020– Two Oxfam workers, Wissam Hazim and Adel al-Halabi,
were killed, and one volunteer was injured in an attack by an armed
group in Daraa province.
December 2024 – Three local workers from Shafak and IYD were killed near Aleppo.
Tajikistan
December
1997 – A French aid worker, Karine Mane, was taken hostage and died two
weeks later during a failed rescue mission by government forces.
June 2001 – Kidnappers asked for the release of detained militants after taking a group of aid workers hostage.
Tanzania
June 2008 – An Australian working with foodwatershelter was killed during a robbery in Arusha.
August 2009 — An Irish volunteer with the group Camara was killed during a suspected mugging in Zanzibar.
January
2023 — 47-year-old New Zealand volunteer Dr. Andrew Bagshaw and
28-year-old British aid worker Chris Parry were killed by gunshot wounds
to the head and body in the Soledar region.
February 2023 — Pete Reed,
the Ukraine country director for Global Outreach Doctors, was killed in
a guided missile strike while helping to evacuate wounded civilians in Bakhmut.
February 2024 – Two HEKS/EPER workers were killed and 4 injured when their vehicle was attacked in Beryslav, Khersonska Oblast.
September 2024 – Three ICRC members were killed at an aid distribution site in Viroliubivka.
June 2012 – A Yemeni staff member of the ICRC was killed in an air strike by the Yemeni Armed Forces in Abyan. According to his family, he had been working on a colleague's release from kidnappers.
May 2013 – Three ICRC staff were kidnapped while working in Abyan and released after a few days.
September 2015 – Two Yemeni ICRC staff were killed after a gunman fired on their convoy heading to Sanaa. As a result, the ICRC temporarily paused travel in Yemen.
December 2015– A French-Tunisian ICRC staff member was abducted on
her way to work in Sanaa. A video of her requesting assistance from
French President François Hollande and the ICRC was posted online a few months later. She was released in October 2016.
June 2018— A Lebanese ICRC staff member was shot and killed by an unknown gunman in Taiz. He was traveling in a marked vehicle to work at a prison.
December 2020– In the Aden airport attack, at least three ICRC staff were killed and three more injured.
September 2023 — A Save the Children staff member was held incommunicado by the Houthis. He died a month later while in detention.
June 2024 – OHCHR reported that over 60 Yemeni workers from the UN and other NGOs were arrested by the Houthis.
They joined at least four UN workers who have been detained since 2021
and 2023. The Houthis claimed to have arrested members of an
"American-Israeli spy network" and released videos of ten Yemeni people
confessing to being spies. OHCHR said that one of the videos depicted a
staff member and that the confession was forced.
January 2025 – Seven UN workers have been detained after the US reclassified the Houthis
as a foreign terrorist organizations. As a consequence of the
detainment of their workers, the UN has suspended its movements into and
within Houthi-held areas. On February 10, one member of the UN World Food Programme died in prison.
