Protestant Origins of Human Rights Challenged

Abstract

This paper will challenge common views about Protestantism as the originator or foremost promoter of human rights. The idea of a Protestant origin is launched by Georg Jellinek and disputed by Emile Boutmy. The idea is still current and John Witte can thus claim that Protestantism was in part a human rights movement. The point of departure for this strain of thinking is religious toleration, which is seen as a particularly Protestant achievement. We will argue that a more precise notion of what 18th-century human rights were and a closer look at mainstream Protestant political philosophy will tell another story.

Keywords

• Boutmy
• Jellinek
• Luther
• Protestantism
• Witte
• human rights