Joachim Willems / Helmut Zander
In Zusammenarbeit mit: Mathieu Cudré-Mauroux
Freedom of Religion and the Relativity of Human Rights
Funded by the University of Oldenburg, with additional support from the University of Fribourg.
Berlin: De Gruyter / Brill 2026, 134 pp.
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ISBN 978-3-11-223900-1
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-223901-8 — e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-223902-5
DOI https://doi.org/10.1515/978
Interreligiöse Bibliothek (IRB): Buch des Monats Juli 2026
Über dieses Buch
Human rights are a central common denominator in global politics – but they often only fulfil this function if cultural relativity is ignored. In this volume, we use the example of the human right to freedom of religion (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 18) to show that human rights are rooted in Latin-European concepts and are therefore culturally relative. We discuss this relativity with regard to interpretations of religious freedom in Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Christian cultures. These examples demonstrate that our understanding of human rights is merely a product of negotiation. This, in turn, has enormous consequences for politics: We cannot assume that cultures which do not share Latin-European concepts, that are closely linked to Christian ideas, will adopt the human rights concepts without revision. The Declaration of Human Rights is therefore not a quasi-metaphysical foundation of politics, as we might wish, but the result of committed negotiation processes. Only an understanding of human rights that integrates the fundamental differences in the history and justifications of the freedom of religion into the political debate is capable of establishing a consensus on the validity of human rights.
Information zu Autoren / Herausgebern
Joachim Willems, Prof. Dr., Dr., Ev. Theologe und Religionspädagoge, Universität Oldenburg
Helmut Zander, Prof. Dr. Dr., Kath. Theologe und Religionshistoriker, Université Fribourg, CH
Mathieu Cudré-Mauroux, Kath. Theologe, Religionslwissensschaftler am „Chaire de Science des Religions Département des Sciences sociales“, Université Fribourg, CH
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- 1 The Invention of Universal Human Rights with Regard to Religious Freedom. Christianity’s Matrix, Globalisation, and the Tensions between Universality Claims and Relativity
Helmut Zander - 2 The Duty to Respect and Protect Human Rights 31
Eva Maria Belser und Géraldine Cattilaz - 3 The Right to Religious Conversion in Modern India 59
Ronojoy Sen - 4 Buddhism and Human Rights 81
Jens Schlieter - 5 The Russian Orthodox Church on Relativity of Human Rights and Universality of Christian Truth 89
Joachim Willems - 6 The Concept of Human Rights in Islam as a Consequence of Islamic Grammar 105
Helmut Zander - Bibliographische Daten
Ergänzend aus dem IRB Blog-Archiv:
— Materialzusammenstellung „Religionsfreiheit“ >>>
— Materialzusammenstellung „Menschenrechte“ >>>
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