Secular and Religious Fundamentalism in the Human Rights Discourse
A CIHR Panel Discussion
Please join us for a riveting panel discussion on the topic of fundamentalism and its effects on human rights, the established international framework for which is primarily Western and secular in nature. Some of the focal questions that the speakers will address include:
-What is fundamentalism and why is it primarily associated with religion? What are some examples of religious fundamentalism infringing on human rights and how can the international human rights community respond to such situations?
-Can secularism be considered a form of fundamentalism? If yes, what are some examples of secular fundamentalism infringing on human rights? How can the human rights community respond to such situations?
-Does human rights advocacy contribute to/reinforce perceptions of secular fundamentalism? If yes, how? What can human rights advocates do to address challenges posed by such perceptions?
-Is the international human rights legal framework able to co-exist with religion and especially with religious governance? Are there any changes that could be made to make religion and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) more compatible?
Speakers:
Professor Abdullahi An-Naim, Emory University School of Law
Janet Epp Buckingham, Director of Global Advocacy for the World Evangelical Alliance and Professor of Political Studies at Trinity Western University
Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University and Chair of Global Law, Law Faculty, Queen Mary University London
Dr. Steven Kettell, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, UK
Moderator:
Professor Avram Bornstein, Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, John Jay College, CUNY
Organized by the Center for International Human Rights at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Co-sponsored by the Master of Arts in International Crime and Justice, the Master of Arts in Human Rights, and the Minor in Human Rights Studies, and the Department of Political Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im (from Sudan) is Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law, associated professor in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, and senior fellow of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion of Emory University. His most recent book is Decolonizing Human Rights, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Janet Epp Buckingham lives in Ottawa, Canada and has served as the Director of Global Advocacy for the World Evangelical Alliance since July 2021. She is a Professor of Political Studies at Trinity Western University with a research focus on religious freedom law in Canada and internationally. She is also the Co-Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Vancouver). Janet is the Executive Editor of the International Journal for Religious Freedom.
Richard Falk is Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University and Chair of Global Law, Law Faculty, Queen Mary University London. His most recent books are Power Shift (2017) and Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim (2021).
Steven Kettell is an Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. He is a founder and co-executive editor of British Politics. His research and teaching interests focus on the politics of religion, atheism, and secularism.
Avram Bornstein has been a professor in the Department of Anthropology at John Jay since 1997. He has served the College as the Director of the Criminal Justice MA Program, co-Director of the NYPD Leadership Program, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies, and Grievance Officer for the faculty union PSC-CUNY. He currently teaches in John Jay’s undergraduate and graduate programs. His research and teaching have focused on violence, ethnic/national identity and conflict. He has done extensive ethnographic research in Israel-Palestine and published on issues such as border enforcement, work, political prisoners, healthcare, international intervention and ethnographic reflexivity. In recent years, Bornstein has also focused on New York City, with particular attention to community policing, police ethnicity and police education.
A CIHR Panel Discussion
Please join us for a riveting panel discussion on the topic of fundamentalism and its effects on human rights, the established international framework for which is primarily Western and secular in nature. Some of the focal questions that the speakers will address include:
-What is fundamentalism and why is it primarily associated with religion? What are some examples of religious fundamentalism infringing on human rights and how can the international human rights community respond to such situations?
-Can secularism be considered a form of fundamentalism? If yes, what are some examples of secular fundamentalism infringing on human rights? How can the human rights community respond to such situations?
-Does human rights advocacy contribute to/reinforce perceptions of secular fundamentalism? If yes, how? What can human rights advocates do to address challenges posed by such perceptions?
-Is the international human rights legal framework able to co-exist with religion and especially with religious governance? Are there any changes that could be made to make religion and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) more compatible?
Speakers:
Professor Abdullahi An-Naim, Emory University School of Law
Janet Epp Buckingham, Director of Global Advocacy for the World Evangelical Alliance and Professor of Political Studies at Trinity Western University
Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University and Chair of Global Law, Law Faculty, Queen Mary University London
Dr. Steven Kettell, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, UK
Moderator:
Professor Avram Bornstein, Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, John Jay College, CUNY
Organized by the Center for International Human Rights at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Co-sponsored by the Master of Arts in International Crime and Justice, the Master of Arts in Human Rights, and the Minor in Human Rights Studies, and the Department of Political Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im (from Sudan) is Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law, associated professor in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, and senior fellow of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion of Emory University. His most recent book is Decolonizing Human Rights, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Janet Epp Buckingham lives in Ottawa, Canada and has served as the Director of Global Advocacy for the World Evangelical Alliance since July 2021. She is a Professor of Political Studies at Trinity Western University with a research focus on religious freedom law in Canada and internationally. She is also the Co-Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Vancouver). Janet is the Executive Editor of the International Journal for Religious Freedom.
Richard Falk is Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University and Chair of Global Law, Law Faculty, Queen Mary University London. His most recent books are Power Shift (2017) and Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim (2021).
Steven Kettell is an Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. He is a founder and co-executive editor of British Politics. His research and teaching interests focus on the politics of religion, atheism, and secularism.
Avram Bornstein has been a professor in the Department of Anthropology at John Jay since 1997. He has served the College as the Director of the Criminal Justice MA Program, co-Director of the NYPD Leadership Program, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies, and Grievance Officer for the faculty union PSC-CUNY. He currently teaches in John Jay’s undergraduate and graduate programs. His research and teaching have focused on violence, ethnic/national identity and conflict. He has done extensive ethnographic research in Israel-Palestine and published on issues such as border enforcement, work, political prisoners, healthcare, international intervention and ethnographic reflexivity. In recent years, Bornstein has also focused on New York City, with particular attention to community policing, police ethnicity and police education.