human rights

Michael Bourdeaux, the Centre for the Study of Religion and Communism, and the Defense of Religious Liberty, 1959–1975

Different Humans and Different Rights? The Concept of Human Dignity in Western and Eastern Orthodox Perspectives

Focusing on the concept of human dignity, the article compares the views of Eastern Orthodox theology and “western” approaches with further distinction between secular, generally neutral models, and Christian theology. Analysis of Eastern Orthodox theology, of the idea of theosis (deification) in particular, shows that theological foundations of “human dignity” in East and West are often closer to each other than it is usually assumed. Consequently, the actual borderline apparently runs not so much between East and West, but rather between secular and religious approaches.

The Russian Orthodox Church’s Approach to Human Rights

Religious Freedom and the German Circumcision Debate