The Image of a Lesser God: Imago Dei and the Human Rights of Children

ABSTRACT: Since the time of Augustine, and continuing today, it is common for religious believers to say that humans are created in the “image of God.” This imago dei idea was also commonly invoked, beginning in the seventeenth century, by Liberal theorists like Locke and Jefferson, as the foundation for natural or human rights. In this article, I will argue that for centuries, the dominant interpretations of imago dei were used by religious philosophical and political leaders to deny rights to both women and non-white men. More centrally to my thesis, this theological idea is still invoked today to deny human rights to children. However, taking children’s human rights seriously offers both a new foundation for human rights generally, and a different interpretation of what it means for humans to reflect the divine image.