Teaching the History of Human Rights

Abstract

Textbooks on human rights often describe the history of human rights as a linear process, where human rights rest on a rather unified history. In this history, the idea of Enlightenment is a central component, leading to the understanding of human rights, as we know them. This article argues that the common presentation of the history of human rights in some central textbooks is highly problematic, not least on the relation between religion and human rights. Even though a simplified narrative to some extent makes it easier to promote human rights, instead of repeating a simplified history there is need to present the history in its complexity. This article gives examples of how the relation between religion and human rights is more complicated than most often argued. The judicial and educational context of the paper is the situation in Sweden.