Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’?
While human rights are meant to represent a secular morality, there are surprising parallels to be drawn with religions. Perhaps most striking is the realization that human rights are actually based on faith, as was already recognized at the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Ethics & Global Politics |
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| Online Access: | http://www.ethicsandglobalpolitics.net/index.php/egp/article/download/26262/37579 |
| _version_ | 1819130862526005248 |
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| author | Henri Féron |
| author_facet | Henri Féron |
| author_sort | Henri Féron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While human rights are meant to represent a secular morality, there are surprising parallels to be drawn with religions. Perhaps most striking is the realization that human rights are actually based on faith, as was already recognized at the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This dependence on faith has deep implications for the way we understand and propagate them, because it puts rights in situations of epistemological stalemate vis-à-vis other cultural, religious, or ideological moral systems. This paper proposes to compare human rights doctrine to a religion to identify potential threats to its long-term credibility, and how to address them. In particular, it explains why coercive propagation of rights risks degenerating into a form of self-contradictory fundamentalism. Ultimately, the article argues for a return to the values of tolerance and mutual respect that rights actually stand for. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T09:06:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c2b72efde4244daa2d554d1799c3a46 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1654-6369 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T09:06:21Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ethics & Global Politics |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c2b72efde4244daa2d554d1799c3a462022-12-21T18:31:35ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEthics & Global Politics1654-63692014-12-017018120010.3402/egp.v7.2626226262Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’?Henri Féron0School of Law, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaWhile human rights are meant to represent a secular morality, there are surprising parallels to be drawn with religions. Perhaps most striking is the realization that human rights are actually based on faith, as was already recognized at the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This dependence on faith has deep implications for the way we understand and propagate them, because it puts rights in situations of epistemological stalemate vis-à-vis other cultural, religious, or ideological moral systems. This paper proposes to compare human rights doctrine to a religion to identify potential threats to its long-term credibility, and how to address them. In particular, it explains why coercive propagation of rights risks degenerating into a form of self-contradictory fundamentalism. Ultimately, the article argues for a return to the values of tolerance and mutual respect that rights actually stand for.http://www.ethicsandglobalpolitics.net/index.php/egp/article/download/26262/37579Foundation of Human Rightssovereignty and human rightsreligion and human rightsuniversality of human rightscultural relativism |
| spellingShingle | Henri Féron Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’? Ethics & Global Politics Foundation of Human Rights sovereignty and human rights religion and human rights universality of human rights cultural relativism |
| title | Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’? |
| title_full | Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’? |
| title_fullStr | Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’? |
| title_short | Human rights and faith: a ‘world-wide secular religion’? |
| title_sort | human rights and faith a world wide secular religion |
| topic | Foundation of Human Rights sovereignty and human rights religion and human rights universality of human rights cultural relativism |
| url | http://www.ethicsandglobalpolitics.net/index.php/egp/article/download/26262/37579 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT henriferon humanrightsandfaithaworldwidesecularreligion |