Vanderwoerd, James R. “The Challenge of Fundamentalism for Social Work Ethics: Can Anti-Oppressive Social Work Include Orthodox Religion?” Canadian Social Work 12, no. 2 (2010): 68-87.
The newly-adopted Code of Ethics of the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW, 2005a) includes in its preamble: The Code of Ethics does not specify which values and principles are most important and which outweigh others in instances of conflict. Reasonable differences of opinion exist among social workers with respect to which values and principles should be given priority in a particular situation (p. 2). This article explores the implications of the Code of Ethic’s openness to the “reasonable differences of opinion” clause with particular attention to groups of people who might be identified as “fundamentalist.” This article argues that recent trends in immigration and religion will require the social work profession to reflect on how it can remain committed to anti-oppressive practise, while at the same time making room for the perspectives of those belonging to religiously orthodox groups. A multiple-pluralities approach that recognizes the narrative character of human beings is suggested as one way to resolve potential conflicts.