A Christian perspective on human rights

The consensus is that human rights are universal when it comes to racism & sexism, but other human rights that border on civil & political rights are suspect as inventions of the bourgeois West. Despite the endorsement of many cultures, these broader human rights continue to be violated because of the refusal to appeal to universal, metalegal norms & the idea that human rights are the result of sociohistorical contexts. For the most part, widely accepted human rights have developed from biblically-rooted religions. Christian tradition holds individuals responsible & a violation of individual rights is a dehumanization of that persons' humanity. Most Christians accept nonbiblical conceptions of rights that are compatible with the Bible. Areas where the Christian Church is protecting human rights are the safest for Christians & non-Christians alike to practice their faith. At issue today is whether or not a global civil society can exist without a religiously based morality at its core. M. Pflum