Adaptation – A model for bringing human rights and religions together

Abstract

From the perspective of a collective – e.g. a religion, culture, tradition, society, or civilisation, human rights can seem to be an individualistic approach undermining the community. This negative view of human rights can be enhanced by the claim of the universality of human rights provoking connotations of imperialism, colonialism, and neo-liberal globalisation. The call for a “universal culture of human rights”, which can sound like the striving for a uniform culture, also strengthens these fears. Finally, a philosophical and social discourse about the groundings of human rights faces the challenge that human rights are defined as “un hecho del mundo” (Rabossi 1990: 161) – as a “fact of the world” – neglecting the need for a justification of human rights. Based on an analysis of the relation between human rights and religions, the following article will discuss the above-mentioned misunderstandings and deliberate on human rights as a “steering notion” of social theory and philosophy in their interaction with religions.