Religious Freedom, Democracy, and International Human Rights

Abstract:     
Recently, an Afghan journalism student was given the death sentence for blasphemy. This sentence was a violation of religious liberty and human rights. Religion has been a key beneficiary of the human rights revolution on a national and international scale from the end of the 20th century. However, this revolution has coincided with intensifying religious and ethnic conflict on a global scale. Thus, a war for souls has broken out.

Legal issues of how to protect religious minorities within a majoritarian religious culture, how to place limits on religious and anti-religious exercises and expressions that cause offense or harm to others have arose. These questions concerning religious freedom, democracy, and human rights are not new in international law. However, human rights norms are not a fundamental belief system; rather, human rights norms stem from religious and cultural traditions.

Several areas are particularly controversial. In particular, proselytism, conversion and apostasy, and blasphemy have generated a great deal of discussion. In the common law of human rights, the defamation of religious resolutions are on the wane, as the issue serves more to divide than unite. A truly democratic approach to religion is needed. This requires a normative distinction and practical disentanglement. Thus, the author offers the challenge to create a universal system of religious human rights that is more than a mere amalgamation of rights to speech, press, and association.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 28

Keywords: Religious freedom, religious liberty, human rights, religion

Accepted Paper Series