Orthodox Theology in Dialogue with Human Rights: Some Considerations on Current Themes, Problems, and Perspectives

The article explores several critical themes in the dialogue between Eastern Christian theology and the concept of Human Dignity and Rights. Despite the publication of a basic document on the issue by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2008 this dialogue currently has reached a dead end. There is some agreement with the Human Rights idea, but a mainstream among Orthodox theologians remains skeptical. Critical issues are to be found in divergent understandings of human dignity, and — more or less derived from that — in emphases on either ‘freedom’ or ‘morality’ as guiding principles structuring the system of law and the public sphere. As it is argued, existing antagonisms are not necessarily unbridgeable. Attempts to overcome existing divergences in recent times have been made both within the discourse about Human Right and from the part of Orthodox theology. To make use of such possibilities would require both interdisciplinary approaches and further reflection on how to translate spiritual terms into socio-political concepts.