Does God Believe in Human Rights?

by Ghanea, Nazila; Stephens, Alan; Walden, Raphael

• ISBN13: 9789004152540
• ISBN10: 9004152547
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-30
• Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff

Summary

Where can religions find sources of legitimacy for human rights? How do, and how should, religious leaders and communities respond to human rights as defined in modern International Law? When religious precepts contradict human rights standards - for example in relation to freedom of expression or in relation to punishments - which should trump the other, and why? Can human rights and religious teachings be interpreted in a manner which brings reconciliation closer? Do the modern concept and system of human rights undermine the very vision of society that religions aim to impart? Is a reference to God in the discussion of human rights misplaced? Do human fallibilities with respect to interpretation, judicial reasoning and the understanding of human oneness and dignity provide the key to the undeniable and sometimes devastating conflicts that have arisen between, and within, religions and the human rights movement?In this volume, academics and lawyers tackle these most difficult questions head-on, with candour and creativity, and the collection is rendered unique by the further contributions of a remarkable range of other professionals, including senior religious leaders and representatives, journalists, diplomats and civil servants, both national and international. Most notably, the contributors do not shy away from the boldest question of all - summed up in the books title.The thoroughly edited and revised papers which make up this collection were originally prepared for a ground-breaking conference organised by the Clemens Nathan Research Centre, the University of London Institute of Commonwealth Studies and Martinus Nijhoff/Brill.

Table of Contents

The complimentarity between secular and religious perspectives of human rights	p. 19
Religious truths and human coexistence	p. 29
Religion in a democratic society : safeguarding freedom, acknowledging identity, valuing partnership	p. 45
Conflicting values or misplaced interpretations? : examining the inevitability of a clash between 'religions' and 'human rights'	p. 65
Religion and human rights with special reference to Judaism	p. 89
Religion and human rights : redressing the balance	p. 107
Human rights and its destruction of right and wrong	p. 115
A more constructive encounter : a Baha'i view of religion and human rights	p. 121
'Human rights,' 'religion' and the 'secular' : variant configurations of religion(s), state(s) and society(ies)	p. 147
Freedom of religion and belief in the light of recent challenges : needs, clashes and solutions	p. 181
Triumphalism and respect for diversity	p. 207
'Phobias' and 'isms' : recognition of difference or the slippery slope of particularisms?	p. 211
Inciting religious hatred : balancing free speech and religious sensibilities in a multi-faith society	p. 233
Theoretical and institutional framework : the soft spot where human rights end and god begins	p. 259
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