THE PROBLEM OF JUSTIFYING THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Keywords:
Human Rights, Global Community, Natural Law, Ethical Rationalism, Alan Gewirth, Jacques MaritainAbstract
The topic of human rights is one of the most important questions in philosophy. It demands urgent attention because, sadly, the violation of human rights is both a common and global phenomenon. Many different types of human rights violations exist, but in this paper I want to focus exclusively on the persecution of people because of their religious beliefs. Consider, to take just a few contemporary examples, China’s harsh treatment of Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, Christians, and Falun Gong members, the Sudan’s genocide against Christians and other nonMuslims, Iran’s torture and execution of Baha’is and Christians, and North Korea’s almost complete suppression of religious freedom.
References
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