Religions have too often been used to justify the violation of human rights, in part through the hierarchical and selective use of role ethics and the postponement of temporal justice to divine judgment or future karmic consequences. Yet the world religions have also provided a constant voice of critique against the violation of human rights by calling for equality, and universal compassion and love, calls which reach far beyond the mere protection of human rights. The essays in this volume offer a diversity of perspectives from the world religions and multiple dimensions of the view that religion can – and indeed must – play an important role in promoting.
