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The Story of Disability Justice

Moral/religious model of disability emerges.

Date: 1

DCRJ
REL

While there is no clear "start date" for this model of understanding disability, it emerges particularly as Christianity begins to spread. This model frames disability as the result of immoral acts and conduct, using words and phrases like "sin," "shame," "act of God," "divine punishment," and so on. Most of the public and private practices related to people living with disabilities, particularly within Christian traditions of European descent, are shaped by this model, which continues to show up today in popular culture and in some subcultures in the United States.