Religion and Politics Final (Essay Sample)

Religion and Politics Final Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Date Religion and Politics Final Introduction The link between the three major Abrahamic religions and human rights is not only sophisticated but also inextricable. While Islam, Christianity and Judaism have, in one way of another, supported the progression of repression, violence and prejudice, they have also played an essential role in the fight for human rights all over the world. Most importantly, these religions have been an important source of human dignity and responsibility which any human rights regime must have in the modern day society (Abulafia, 2019). This paper provides a comparison and assessment of the contribution given by Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the growth of the notions and institutions of universal human rights. It also provides an investigation into the manner in which these religions have been used in the development of modern theory, norms and practice of human rights and how they inform our thinking and inspire people to uphold human rights in the modern and postmodern era. Development of Modern Human Rights, Theory and Practice Judaism, Christianity and Islam generally contribute to the current theories on human rights. While the phrase “human rights” is nowhere to be found in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is evident that Jews believe in divine rights as envisaged in the Torah. As such, the present day rights theory takes much from the culture and traditions of the Jews and builds upon it. In practice, for example, when a person is sexually abused, in the traditions of Judaism, it is the duty of others to rescue him or her (Jihad, 2018). In Christianity and Islam, discrimination and injustice are also seen to be against the basic rights of human beings. In all these religions, abuse means that the act has been done on the person against their will. In light of this perspective, there is the “will theory of human rights” which focuses on the freedom that everyone has as a human being. This theory borrows from the traditions of these three Abrahamic religions in that no human being should be forced into anything that is against his or her human freedom. These religions also contribute to the interest theory of human rights. Charles (2006) asserts that human rights are meant to preserve the essential interests of human beings such as liberty and life. Potential Consequences of Drifting from the Original Higher Law Traditions Thinking human rights is no longer glued to higher law traditions that were mainly based on religious beliefs. For instance, the fact that not all human rights are absolute only means that they do not apply to all societies in the same way. There are instances in which religious beliefs seem to be against the prevailing human rights expectations. For instance, while these religions advocate for the forgiveness of transgressors, if looked from the human rights perspective, this act would be a violation of the human right of liberty and free will. This point of view has been among those that have been used by those who call for the separation of religion from the human rights discourse. While those who separate religion from human rights think that they are trying to dispose the common social problems this perspective is too far from the truth. In nations that are secular, it is possible to still find human rights being violated (Marti, 2019). For instance, such states will always have authoritarianism, gender discrimination, children cruelty, racism and corruption which are ways in which human rights are violated. Nevertheless, this point of view is only possible in theory. No state is entirely secular (Greenwell, 2010). Besides, human rights need to consider the views of religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam because certain aspects of human rights are crucial to their validity. Things such as justice, human dignity and universal moral norms are what make human rights to be what they are. They are also vividly based on the revelations of God and rooted on rationality which itself originates from God. Judaism, Christianity and Islam in upholding Human rights in Postmodern Era While modernism is defined by the radical drift from traditions, postmodernism is defined by the self-conscious application of traditions. As such, in the post-modern era, people tend to apply traditional concepts in ways that match with a person’s personal understanding of the concept. When it comes to human rights, there are those who think that religion does not contribute anything towards upholding them. Nonetheless, there are also those who have claimed that there are no human rights without religion. To some extent, the latter thinking is true because human rights are validated by three things: justice, universal norms and human dignity (Greenwell, 2010). These concepts are all part and parcel of the beliefs taught in Judaism, Christians and Islam. Human rights need universal moral norms because every human being makes of moral behavior from every other person around them. Nobody wants to be tortured or to others tortured or their lives being deliberately taken. Judaism, Islam and Christianity stand for universal moral norms which validate human rights. Additionally, these three religions also uphold human rights by encouraging people to mind about the human dignity of others (Grotius, 2016). The life of every human being is of inestimable worth and should be respected. Such thinking is in line with the modern conception of human rights. Also, Islam, Judaism and Christianity call for justice to prevail in e...