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14 - Process Theology and a Pluralistic Foundation for Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2021

Pamela Slotte
Affiliation:
Åbo Akademi University
John D. Haskell
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
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Summary

Historical accounts of human rights in the West readily acknowledge a deep indebtedness to the conceptions of human dignity found in religious traditions – particularly Christianity and Judaism. Modern conceptions of human rights, however, usually avoid religious justifications and implicitly or explicitly rely on a secular justification. For example, most scholars mark the beginning of modern human rights law with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the UDHR) in 1948. The UDHR sets forth an extensive list of rights including the “right to life, liberty and the security of person,” the “right to marry and to found a family,” the “right to own property,” and “freedom of thought, conscience and association.” While the Preamble of the UDHR maintains that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,” the UDHR does not posit a justification for its claim of inherent human dignity or for its list of rights.

Type
Chapter
Information
Christianity and International Law
An Introduction
, pp. 281 - 316
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Recommended Reading

Griffin, David Ray, ed. Deep Religious Pluralism. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.Google Scholar
Griffin, David Ray. Process Theology: On Postmodernism, Morality, Pluralism, Eschatology, and Demonic Evil. Anoka, MN: Process Century Press, 2017.Google Scholar
Modak-Truran, Mark C.A Process Theory of Natural Law and the Rule of Law in China.” Penn State International Law Review 26, no. 3 (2008): 607–52.Google Scholar
Whitehead, Alfred North. Adventures of Ideas. New York: The Free Press, 1933.Google Scholar
Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality, corrected ed., edited by Griffin, David Ray and Sherburn, Donald W.. New York: The Free Press 1978 (1929).Google Scholar
Witte, John, Jr., and Alexander, Frank S., eds. Christianity and Human Rights: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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