2012•Unpublished venueRequires access
Religious Liberty in Political Perspective
J.A. van der Ven
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Abstract
In this chapter, the author contributes to the defence of human rights, particularly religious liberty as one of the cornerstones of democracy. It draws on the work of perhaps the foremost political theorist of the 20th century, John Rawls. It also draws on the Jena period of Hegel's thought on social and political philosophy. The chapter interprets Rawls's views on religion and religious liberty, democracy and human rights. It also endeavours to comment critically on the relation between religious liberty and the situation of religious minorities. The chapter deals with the following issues in four sections: religious liberty, a human right, dynamics of religious liberty, scope of religious liberty, and equal or unequal distribution of religious liberty based on empirical research among religious majorities and minorities. Keywords:Hegel; human rights; John Rawls; political philosophy; religious liberty