scholarly journals Opposing abuse in religious high-demand groups in South Africa: the case study of the “prophet” of Hertzogville

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 602-621
Author(s):  
S. P. Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
High Demand ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Right

Since the new Constitution came into force, there has been an increase in the number of high-demand religious groups. The more accommodating and tolerant approach towards religions brought about by the Constitution has created a fertile environment for the development of alternative religious groups. In certain cases, unfortunately, this has resulted in the violation of other basic human rights within the confines of these groups. There is very little monitoring of the various religions in South Africa and these violations seem to be on the increase. A need arose to oppose the infringement of human rights in high-demand religious groups. The organisation RIGH (Rights of Individuals Grant Honour To) was established to address this need. This article aims, first, to point out how the exercising of one basic human right, in this particular case the right to freedom of religion as exercised in Hertzogville, led to the violation of other basic human rights. Secondly, it suggests ways of opposing the infringements on other basic human rights by high-demand religious groups.

scholarly journals Religious freedom as a universal value

2019 ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Natalia Kutuzova
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Personal Autonomy ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right

The article substantiates the universal value of religious freedom, based on the fundamental human right to freedom of religion and belief. Referring to the relevant international documents, the author reveals the content of the concept of "religious freedom" and concludes that there are two basic values at the heart of human rights: human dignity and equality. Only a systematic approach to freedom of religion in the human rights complex gives them universal value. There are two components to freedom of religion (belief): freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; the right to profess one's religion or belief. Religious freedom has both a universal and a private dimension. Being secular in nature, freedom of religion is especially evident in modern societies, which secularity and inclusivity empowers people to decide for themselves about their religiosity. The article deals with the restrictions that exist for religious freedom. Often the right to practice one's religion comes into conflict with different rights of other people. The protection of these rights must come from the principles of non-discrimination, neutrality and impartiality, respect for the right to religion, pluralism and tolerance, institutional and personal autonomy, lack of a hierarchy of human rights. The article argues that religious freedom is a universal value and right in the human rights complex.

Bans on the Wearing of Religious Symbols in British Schools: A Violation of the Right to Non-Discrimination?

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-149
Author(s):  
Erica Howard
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Religious Symbols ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right

AbstractBans on the wearing of religious symbols in education have been said to violate the right to freedom of religion and/or anti-discrimination legislation. This article builds on an earlier article published in this journal which examined whether bans constitute a violation of the fundamental human right to freedom of religion. It analyses such bans as a breach of anti-discrimination measures by looking at cases of the European Court of Human Rights and the British courts. This analysis leads to the conclusion that a claim based on anti-discrimination law is not likely to be more successful in court than a claim based on freedom of religion because similar issues are taken into account in both decisions.

scholarly journals APOSTASY: IS IT HUMAN RIGHTS OR/AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 208-215
Author(s):  
Adibah Sulaiman ◽  
◽  
Md Yazid Ahmad ◽  
Mohd Azmir Mohd Nizah ◽  
Ezad Azraai Jamsari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The West ◽  
Freedom Of Belief ◽  
The Right

This study investigates the issue of apostasy or riddahor as a human right to freedom of religion or belief, especially among the Muslims. The purpose is to examine the question of whether apostasy should be recognized by modern Muslim states and societies as a human right that must be guaranteed for their citizens. Or, should it strictly be denied, thus freedom of religion or belief should not be extended to apostasy for Muslims and Muslim converts? The method used to complete the study is historical research and content analysis. This study showed that the call for recognition of apostasy as a human right is indeed influenced by the West which extremely enjoys freedom of belief or religion. As for Islam, apostasy is indeed contradictory with its teachings. This article is meaningful as it highlights the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (UIDHR) which speaks on religious freedom with limitations. UIDHR invariably attempts to match the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that recognizes the right to believe in whatever men want or to change their religion as they wish, at any time.

Selective Conscientious Objection and International Human Rights

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Hammer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Conscientious Objector ◽  
Human Right ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe development of an international status for military conscientious objection received a strong backing by pronouncements from bodies like the Human Rights Committee that the capacity for objection can derive from the international human right to freedom of religion or belief of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Even with such pronouncements, questions remain in regard to the nature, boundaries and scope of this right. Most importantly, does this pronounced right allow for selective military conscientious objection within the international human rights system? This article will focus on the view that the capacity for military conscientious objection in the international human rights system derives from the right to freedom of religion and conscience. The implication of the international human right of freedom of religion or belief is important for its application to selective conscientious objection. However, even if the Human Rights Committee desires to limit the application of military conscientious objection, a selective objector can arguably still make the case for upholding a claim based on the human right and the manner in which it has been interpreted by the Committee and other international bodies. While on the one hand the focus on the human right to freedom of religion or belief can possibly provide the basis for a selective conscientious objector, it removes the possibility for claims that do not involve a religion or belief. The importance however of freedom of religion or behef should force a reviewing body to properly consider and measure the claim of a selective objector, with a view towards considering whether they are confronted with the manifestation of a belief and whether the state is violating such a seminal human right.

The right to housing

2020 ◽  
pp. 209-222
Author(s):  
Dessie Donnelly ◽  
Joe Finnerty ◽  
Cathal O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Group Participation ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Housing Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

This chapter describes the human rights-based approach to housing and analyses it from a critical social policy perspective. The first section outlines the importance of housing as a human right, the second explores the distinctiveness of housing and a third section provides a case study of a community advocacy group, Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR), using international human rights instruments such as the UN International Covenant for Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to promote housing rights. Finally, the prospects and limits of a human rights-based approach to housing are discussed.

Contemporary Thinking on Conversion and Persecution: A Survey of Recent Missiological Compendia

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-308
Author(s):  
Christof Sauer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Freedom Of Belief ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
The Right

Abstract This essay surveys the state of research regarding the ample relations between conversion and persecution as reflected in two recent missiological collections of essays, namely Freedom of Belief and Christian Mission (2015), and Sorrow and Blood: Christian Mission in Contexts of Suffering, Persecution and Martyrdom (2012). The systematic categories emanate from examining conversion as a human right in the framework of freedom of religion or belief, with the guidance of the un Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. The essay covers missiological reflection on the right to convert; not to be forced to convert; and to try to convert others by means of non-coercive persuasion. It also discovers a lack of reflection on the rights of the child and of his or her parents in this regard. This is done against the background of the challenges to the enjoyment of these rights in various contexts and from multiple parties, often taking the form of harassment, discrimination or persecution. It becomes evident that a Christian theological and missiological perspective adds important further considerations to the human rights perspective on conversion and religious freedom or persecution.

scholarly journals The right to freedom of religion and the right against religious discrimination: Theoretical distinctions

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1125-1145
Author(s):  
Tarunabh Khaitan ◽  
Jane Calderwood Norton
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Group ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
The Right ◽  
Material Advantage

Abstract This article argues that while they are often conflated, the right to freedom of religion and the right against religious discrimination are in fact distinct human rights. Religious freedom is best understood as protecting our interest in religious adherence (and non-adherence), understood from the committed perspective of the (non)adherent. This internal, committed perspective generates a capacious and realistic conception of religious adherence, which reflects the staggering plurality of forms of religiosity (or lack thereof) as extant in contemporary societies. The right against religious discrimination is best understood as protecting our non-committal interest in the unsaddled membership of our religious group. Thus understood, the two rights have distinct normative rationales. Religious freedom is justified by the need to respect our decisional autonomy in matters of religious adherence. The prohibition on religious discrimination is justified by the need to reduce any significant (political, sociocultural, or material) advantage gaps between different religious groups. These differences reveal a complex map of two overlapping, but conceptually distinct, human rights which are not necessarily breached simultaneously.

Human rights and equality in education: Introduction

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sandra Fredman ◽  
Meghan Campbell ◽  
Helen Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Equality In Education ◽  
The Relationship

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the relationship between human rights and equality in education. Education has been recognised as a fundamental human right at least since 1948, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared that everyone has the right to free and compulsory education. Importantly, the right extends beyond access to education; it also includes quality education. Indeed, education must be ‘directed to the full development of the human personality’ and ‘promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups’. The right to education has also been recognised in the major international human rights instruments, and in the domestic law of numerous countries. This book then determines what role human rights can play in addressing some of the most challenging issues in the quest for quality education for all.

Involuntary Circumcision of Males in Illegal Initiation Schools in South Africa: A Violation of African Customary Human Rights?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Porsche Makama
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Topical Issue ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Traditional Practice

The incidence of deaths associated with the practice of forced and botched circumcisions at initiation schools has become a topical issue in South Africa. In recent times, the number of deaths and injuries among initiates has risen at an alarming rate, most of them occurring at illegal initiation schools. The continuous rise in the number of injuries among initiates at these schools has elicited mixed reactions among community members, some referring to it as genocide in the case of fatalities and calling for its abandonment, while others argue that this traditional practice should be allowed to continue. The majority of young men who go to initiation schools do not make the decision on their own, nor do they have a choice in the matter. Instead they are compelled by parents or guardians, influenced by friends, and also coerced by others in the community who insist that they have to ‘go to the mountain’, as initiation schools are generally referred to in South Africa. It has been argued by those against circumcision that this practice infringes constitutional rights and contravenes the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. There have been numerous instances where young and even mature males have been taken from the streets, or even from the comfort of their homes, and forced into circumcision camps with or without their consent. This begs the question whether the continued practice of a cultural tradition that violates the fundamental human right and freedom to choose religious and cultural beliefs is justifiable.

Housing as a Basic Human Right: A Reflection on South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mziwandile Sobantu ◽  
Nqobile Zulu ◽  
Ntandoyenkosi Maphosa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

This paper reflects on human rights in the post-apartheid South Africa housing context from a social development lens. The Constitution guarantees access to adequate housing as a basic human right, a prerequisite for the optimum development of individuals, families and communities. Without the other related socio-economic rights, the provision of access to housing is limited in its service delivery. We argue that housing rights are inseparable from the broader human rights discourse and social development endeavours underway in the country. While government has made much progress through the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the reality of informal settlements and backyard shacks continues to undermine the human rights prospects of the urban poor. Forced evictions undermine some poor citizens’ human rights leading courts to play an active role in enforcing housing and human rights through establishing a jurisprudence that invariably advances a social development agenda. The authors argue that the post-1994 government needs to galvanise the citizenship of the urban poor through development-oriented housing delivery.

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