Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age

The connection between secularization theory, the privatization of religion and the public development of rights legislation is a response to growing confusion concerning the place of ‘morality’ and ethics in a public, ‘secularized’ society. This paper explores how human rights legislation emerged i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Montgomery, Cameron
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Secularization
Human Rights
inuit
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7419
id ftqueensuniv:oai:https://qspace.library.queensu.ca:1974/7419
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spelling ftqueensuniv:oai:https://qspace.library.queensu.ca:1974/7419 2024-06-02T08:09:33+00:00 Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age Montgomery, Cameron 2012-09-05T19:02:08Z application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7419 en eng http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7419 Secularization Human Rights thesis 2012 ftqueensuniv 2024-05-06T10:47:32Z The connection between secularization theory, the privatization of religion and the public development of rights legislation is a response to growing confusion concerning the place of ‘morality’ and ethics in a public, ‘secularized’ society. This paper explores how human rights legislation emerged in the ‘western’ context, how it has adapted to globalization and criticisms it faces. Brief examples of Jainism and the Inuit represent alternative rights paradigms, acting as a cautionary against solidifying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into an inflexible document universalizing all cultures. I conclude that it is important for ‘secular’ societies to make choices in public policy with a critical and judicious examination of the citizens’ rights in mind, not only to preserve rights historically achieved but to prevent ambiguous or indecisive ethical positions from resulting in the protection of corporate interest above the individual. Thesis inuit Queen's University, Ontario: QSpace
institution Open Polar
collection Queen's University, Ontario: QSpace
op_collection_id ftqueensuniv
language English
topic Secularization
Human Rights
spellingShingle Secularization
Human Rights
Montgomery, Cameron
Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age
topic_facet Secularization
Human Rights
description The connection between secularization theory, the privatization of religion and the public development of rights legislation is a response to growing confusion concerning the place of ‘morality’ and ethics in a public, ‘secularized’ society. This paper explores how human rights legislation emerged in the ‘western’ context, how it has adapted to globalization and criticisms it faces. Brief examples of Jainism and the Inuit represent alternative rights paradigms, acting as a cautionary against solidifying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into an inflexible document universalizing all cultures. I conclude that it is important for ‘secular’ societies to make choices in public policy with a critical and judicious examination of the citizens’ rights in mind, not only to preserve rights historically achieved but to prevent ambiguous or indecisive ethical positions from resulting in the protection of corporate interest above the individual.
format Thesis
author Montgomery, Cameron
author_facet Montgomery, Cameron
author_sort Montgomery, Cameron
title Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age
title_short Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age
title_full Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age
title_fullStr Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age
title_full_unstemmed Meaning Makers and Secularization: Human Rights as an Expression of Meaning in a Post-Secular Age
title_sort meaning makers and secularization: human rights as an expression of meaning in a post-secular age
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7419
genre inuit
genre_facet inuit
op_relation http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7419
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