The Relationship Between the Divine Command Theory and Human Rights

Abstract

The relationship between the foundation of ethics and the criteria for assessing good and bad actions and behaviors of individuals from the perspective of divine command theorists, and its connection with human rights, has always been a subject of contemplation. In one approach (the theory of divine command), the nature of ethical actions and behaviors is rooted in divine rules and the will of God. However, in another approach (human rights), ethical concepts inherently possess value rooted in a rights-based moral system and based on autonomy and inherent human dignity. This research aims to evaluate and analyze the prevailing discourse on human rights and its theoretical foundations in comparison to the theory of divine command. Through a descriptive-analytical method, the main finding of this study suggests that the relationship between human rights and the theory of divine command, which belongs to the duty-based ethics, is inherently contradictory in terms of their respective principles, and the emphasis on obligations in the duty-based approach hinders the assertion and claim of rights.

Keywords

• human rights
• ethics
• autonomy
• intellectual and religious good and evil
• the divine command theory