Freedom of Religion as a Source of Claims to Equality and Problems for Equality

Abstract

The earliest political and legal documents inaugurating the era of constitutionalism in the late 18th century already emphasized the principles of liberty and equality. The first one, the American Declaration of Independence of 1776, attributes the liberty and equality of human beings to the Creator, thus giving a religious explanation for its postulates. The second one, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789, plainly states in its first article that humans are born and remain free and equal in rights, which are defined as natural rights serving the public good and thereby put in a more secular context, although the Déclaration also recognizes the presence and protection of the “Supreme Being”. Ever since, the religious and the secular explanations have been competing with and supplementing each other in ensuring the effective protection of human rights. And ever since, liberty and equality have been competing with and supplementing each other in keeping the proper balance between the interests of society and the aspirations of the individual.