Religion and the Global Politics of Human Rights

. Ed(s): Banchoff, Thomas F.; Wuthnow, Robert

ISBN 10: 0195343387 / ISBN 13: 9780195343380

Published by Oxford University Press, 2011

About this Item

Are human rights universal or the product of specific cultures? The contributors to this volume address this and many other questions as they examine, through a bottom-up approach, the interaction of human rights and religion in practice and the challenges they pose for national and international policymakers. Editor(s): Banchoff, Thomas F.; Wuthnow, Robert. Num Pages: 336 pages, black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: HRAM2; JPVH. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 232 x 158 x 22. Weight in Grams: 446. . 2011. Paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780195343380

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Religion and the Global Politics of Human Rights
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195343387
• ISBN 13: 9780195343380
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Are human rights universal or the product of specific cultures? Is democracy a necessary condition for the achievement of human rights in practice? And when, if ever, is it legitimate for external actors to impose their understandings of human rights upon particular countries? In the contemporary context of globalization, these questions have a salient religious dimension. Religion intersects with global human rights agendas in multiple ways, including: whether ''universal'' human rights are in fact an imposition of Christian understandings; whether democracy, the ''rule of the people,'' is compatible with God's law; and whether international efforts to enforce human rights including religious freedom amount to an illicit imperialism. This book brings together leading specialists across disciplines for the first major survey of the religious politics of human rights across the world's major regions, political systems, and faith traditions. The authors take a bottom-up approach and focus particularly on hot-button issues like human rights in Islam, Falun Gong in China, and religion in the former Soviet Union. Each essay examines the interaction of human rights and religion in practice and the challenges they pose for national and international policymakers.

About the Author

TB: Director, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University RW: Andlinger Professor of Sociology and Director, Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University