Issues of Human Rights Flashcards
Human rights and social justice
Human rights are universal moral rights that apply to all people, at all times in all situations, regardless of gender, race, religious or non-religious beliefs and age.
1948- United Nations issued Declaration of Human Rights (30 articles which start with “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”)
Social Justice means promoting a fair society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity. Ensuring that everyone has equal access to provisions, equal opportunities and rights.
Amnesty International
Set up in 1960 by Peter Benenson.
Works worldwide to protect and campaign for men, women and children whose basic human rights are denied.
AI use nonviolent methods to raise awareness and protest against human rights abuses:
-form protest marches
-write letters to governments, campaigning for justice
-raising awareness, through media
-running school programmes to educate about human rights.
Malala Yousafzai
Human rights campaigner.
Malala campaigned against the lack of education for girls in Pakistan, where she lived.
“I raised up my voice- not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back”
The Taliban banned girls from school where Malala lived.
This goes against the human right “Everyone has the right to an education”
Malala knew she would be putting her life at risk. When she was 11 she blogged about promoting education for girls. On 9th October 2012, she was getting on a bus when she was shot 3 times. She survived and continues to campaign.
Humanist attitudes to human rights and social justice
Humanists UK is firmly committed to the protection and promotion of human rights, as exemplified in documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights represent shared values rooted in our common humanity and our shared human needs, transcending particular cultural and religious traditions. This regard for human rights and for the equal dignity of all human beings underpins many of our policies.
Humanist principles of justice and of valuing the dignity of each individual also lead us to support equality and oppose unwarranted discrimination. Humanists have been deeply involved in campaigning against discrimination – from homophobia to racism – for decades. Humanists have also been in the forefront of developing modern ideas of human rights, and have been prominent human rights defenders.
Christian views on human rights and social justice
People sometimes say that discrimination is created when prejudice is combined with power. Prejudice is the attitude of someone whose opinion is not based on fact. Prejudice can be triggered by differences of religion, race, colour, sex, language, disability or age. Prejudice is not illegal, as an attitude can’t be illegal, but discrimination is illegal.
Discrimination and human rights
All forms of discrimination go against the first two Articles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 1 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2 Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Liberation theology
Love for the poor must be preferential, but not exclusive.
Ecclesia in America, 1999
Liberation theology was a radical movement that grew up in South America as a response to the poverty and the ill-treatment of ordinary people. The movement was caricatured in the phrase If Jesus Christ were on Earth today, he would be a Marxist revolutionary, but it’s more accurately encapsulated in this paragraph from Leonardo and Clodovis Boff:
Liberation theology said the church should derive its legitimacy and theology by growing out of the poor. The Bible should be read and experienced from the perspective of the poor.
The church should be a movement for those who were denied their rights and plunged into such poverty that they were deprived of their full status as human beings. The poor should take the example of Jesus and use it to bring about a just society.
Muslim views on human rights and social injustice
People sometimes say that discrimination is created when prejudice is combined with power. Prejudice is the attitude of someone whose opinion is not based on fact. Prejudice can be triggered by differences of religion, race, colour, sex, language, disability or age. Prejudice is not illegal, as an attitude can’t be illegal, but discrimination is illegal.
Discrimination and human rights
All forms of discrimination go against the first two Articles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 1 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2 Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Censorship
The practice of suppressing and limiting access to materials considered obscene, offensive or a threat to security. People may be restricted in their speech by censorship laws.
Article 19 of Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression”.
In the UK people are free to express their views about any religion unless it will incite violence or discrimination. There are different views about whether we should be allowed to express these views freely or if they are likely to cause offense should there be censorship?
Freedom of religious expression
Religion can be expressed in clothes or symbols worn. However, in some countries it is illegal to wear religious symbols to school.
Often, these symbols reflect a particular belief and are an important part of the e believer’s identity.
For some religious people might feel it is important to tell other people about their faith. Mission- calling to go out into the world and spread faith. Evangelise- to try and convert someone to a religion. “Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
Other people think it is disrespectful to do this.
Religious extremism
Extremism- believing in and supporting ideas that are very far from what most people consider correct or reasonable.
Some people may join organisations and activities where people have similar views and beliefs. There is a fine balance between freedom of speech and action, and actions and speech that are considered extreme.
For some, their beliefs are so important to them, they may feel justified in extreme ways to uphold their belief or make others follow them. They may misinterpret the holy books, they may think they will be rewarded for their actions in the afterlife, they may be influenced by family or friends who think the same way, they may think they are doing God’s work.
All believe they are acting correctly because it what they believe to be true.
Prejudice and discrimination
Discrimination- acts of treating groups of people, or individuals differently, based on prejudice.
Prejudice- judging people to be inferior or superior without cause.
There are laws to protect people against discrimination however, many people would say discrimination still exists e.g some buildings don’t allow access for all people, women being paid less than men, women not being allowed to have leadership roles in certain religious communities because of the interpretation of the holy text.
Religious discrimination
Unequal treatment of an individual or group based on their beliefs. Actions may include -name calling and ridicule - attacks on places of worship - burning of sacred texts - not being allowed to wear religious symbols in public - acts of violence Islamophobia- prejudice against Muslims
Christian views on prejudice and discrimination
Christianity teaches that everyone is equal in the eyes of God. Therefore there is no reason to treat people differently.
Christian teaching about other people is based on love and this is stated by Jesus:
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
John 13:34
You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Matthew 22:39
There are also two important teachings in the writings of Paul about this:
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
Acts 17:26
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
No one can follow these teachings perfectly, and there will be occasions when Christians, like those of other faiths, are guilty of prejudice and discrimination.
But there are many examples too of Christians challenging injustice when they see the laws of God being broken.
John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, is from Uganda where he was a lawyer and judge until 1975 when he was forced to flee to Britain when President Idi Amin started a reign of terror against his own people. Archbishop Sentamu has done a lot to raise awareness of racism in British society and in the Anglican church.
Muslim views on prejudice and discrimination
The Qur’an (the Divine Book revealed to the Prophet Muhammad) teaches that everyone was created by Allah (God) and that everyone is equal:
Of His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours.
Surah 30:22
O mankind, We have created you from male and female; and We have divided you into tribes and sub-tribes for greater facility of intercourse. Verily, the most honoured among you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.’
Surah 49:14
Therefore there is no reason to treat people of different races differently. The Prophet Muhammad showed how important this teaching was in his last sermon, when he said:
All mankind is descended from Adam and Eve, an Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab; a white person is not better than a black person, nor is a black person better than a white person except by piety and good actions. Learn that every Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim and that Muslims form one brotherhood.
No one can follow these teachings perfectly, and there will be occasions when Muslims, like those of other faiths, are guilty of prejudice and discrimination.
But there are many examples too of Muslims challenging injustice when they see the laws of God being broken.
One such person is Farid Esack, a Muslim university teacher who decided to challenge racism and inequality in South Africa at a time when Apartheid was the political system. Today he continues to work with people of all religions to find ways to resolve conflict, misunderstanding and injustice.
Muhammad said: “Believers are in relation to one another as parts of one structure. One part strengthens the other.”
Bukhari Hadith 8.88
The most excellent jihad is the uttering of truth in the presence of an unjust ruler.
Tirmidhi Hadith 17
Humanist views on prejudice and discrimination
Discrimination becomes unfair and harmful when we use unimportant or irrelevant differences to make choices that affect other people. It occurs when we treat other people based on the group to which we perceive them to belong, rather than on individual merit (for example, if we don’t employ women to do certain jobs just because they are women, or we say only people from a certain race can live in our country, or that same-sex couples can’t get married). We are then denying people equal rights to things that are important in our lives, such as education, employment, and status in society.
Prejudice occurs when we judge other people or groups without reason or knowledge, and it often leads to unfair discrimination. This happens when we form an opinion about something before we have learned about all the relevant facts. People can sometimes stereotype others according to irrelevant features, such as their sex, race, age, religion or belief, or sexual orientation, rather than considering what features are actually important. Humanists believe we should treat all people as individuals.
