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This article examines the relationship between religion and human rights, arguing they must work together for true human dignity.

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May 18, 2026Open Access

'To Serve Right and to Fight Wrong': Why Religion, Human Rights, and Human Dignity Need Each Other

Key Points

This article examines the relationship between religion and human rights, arguing they must work together for true human dignity.
Review of Pope Benedict XVI's arguments on the foundations of human rights and religion.
Discussion of theories regarding human dignity and moral duties.
Analysis of the role of public deliberation in religious and human rights discourse.
Highlights the deficiency of human rights theories without a religious foundation.
Emphasizes the reciprocal moral duties tied to the claims of rights.
Supports the necessity of religious voices in public discussions of human rights.

Abstract

Pope Benedict XVI argued convincingly that Christianity and other religious communities not only laid the foundations for modern human rights, but remain essential allies in the struggle for human rights for all. Theories of human dignity without religious mooring, claims of rights without reciprocal moral duties, and public deliberation without religious voices included are all impoverished, the Pope argued. Religion and human rights, in particular, need each other. This Article offers an appreciative review of the Pope's arguments and then offers further arguments about the necessary interaction of religion and human rights.

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