Human rights are a sign of hope for the unification of the human family in peace and justice. And Christians, of all people, are at odds over the reason for and scope of human rights? This is what happened in 2009 when the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) attacked a document of the Russian Orthodox Church on human dignity, freedom and human rights. The tone was conciliatory, the criticism scathing.

On 19/20 February 2021, a conference of the Institute Confessional Studies in Bensheim took up the topic again and expanded it. Eight forms of Christianity presented their specific approach to the justification and meaning of human rights: Protestant, Catholic, Byzantine Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox, Pentecostal, Methodist, Baptist and Adventist. The second part looked back at the discussion on the Moscow Patriarchate's document on "human dignity, freedom and rights" (2008).

Prof. Barbara Hallensleben was one of the speakers and reports on the conference in a guest article for kath.ch

Link to the article (in German)