RLG100Y1 Chapter Notes -World Politics, Islamic Fundamentalism, Asian Values
Document Summary
Rlg309 reading #1- religion and human rights in the post cold. Sept. 10/2001: united nations conference, many nations disagreeing over form of discrimination, however all agree that discrimination based on sex, race, etc. Is an infringement of moral universal right: ethical principles now commonly categorized as human rights . Article discusses global tension s which exist between human rights and religion. Religion has become ever increasingly more globally significant since the fall of the soviet empire. Angle: the rift between universal value and cultural difference. Found evidently in the human rights discourse of the united nations. Cultural difference cannot be an excuse for overriding universal human rights: fundamentalist interpretations of religion can be a threat to human rights, there is a historical relationship between religious persecution and genocide. Post cold war: fall of soviet communism gave rise to awareness of religious factors in world politics. Potential religious and cultural threats to the new universals such as human rights.
