Part II | Outline

Category D | Human Rights

Topic 22 | Religious freedom as the grandparent of human rights

Religious freedom is sometimes referred to as the grandparent of human rights, reflecting both its early significance as the oldest internationally recognized human right and its relation to other basic human rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly. Going back to rights documents as early as the Magna Carta (1215), some form of religious freedom has been recognized as a right. Recognizing religious freedom as a progenitor of the human rights family and preserving family ties to that grandparent right are necessary for all rights in the human rights family to flourish.

• Relation to fundamental human rights. The relationship between religious freedom and other fundamental human rights can be seen in the history of how protection for other rights emerged.

  • The right to freedom of speech is closely related to the rights of religious dissenters to speak against prevailing religious orthodoxy.
  • The right of freedom of the press is closely tied to the right to publish the Bible and unorthodox religious literature, especially in languages that ordinary people could understand.
  • The rights of freedom of association and freedom of assembly were won in large measure as a struggle for the right of religious minorities to be free to associate and assemble.

• Relation to other rights. The connection between FoRB and other important rights may exist even when the relationships are less obvious, including the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to education, and others.

• Danger of “cut-flower” culture. Severing other important rights from their religious roots runs the risk of creating a “cut-flower” human rights culture; the bouquet of beautiful rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association and assembly could easily wither and die if cut off from the sustaining taproot of religious freedom. Put another way, recognizing and preserving family ties to the grandparent right of the human rights family is necessary for all rights in that family to flourish.

• Religious freedom is not redundant. Despite the argument that religious freedom is not necessary because it is related to or encompassed by other rights, religious freedom is a unique right that must be protected based on

  • its history,
  • the depth to which religious beliefs are held by individuals, and
  • the inadequacy of other rights to protect manifestations of belief such as conscientious objection.