President Henry B. Eyring

On behalf of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I extend a warm welcome to all who are participating in the 27th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU Law School. This symposium is the world’s premier conference where religious leaders and leading scholars and government authorities come together to discuss global religious freedom issues. Deeper appreciation and understanding of the values of religious freedom for the peoples of the world will be the fruits of this symposium. This year’s topic, Religious Freedom: Rights and Responsibilities, reflects well our faith’s beliefs in the importance of both religious freedom and responsibility in respecting the rights and needs of everyone.

(more…)

Heiner Bielefeldt is Full Professor of human rights and human rights politics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany

My specific theme today is “responsibility,” responsibility on behalf of religious freedom. I will distinguish between different layers or dimensions of responsibility.

Within the human rights movement, there seems to be some hesitancy to talk about responsibility. Certain governments like to invoke responsibility as “duties to the state” so the enjoyment of human rights becomes dependent on a prior fulfillment of citizens’ duties as defined by those governments. That, of course, can make the status of human rights including religious freedom precarious. Many human rights activists remain cautious in using the vocabulary of “responsibility.” We need a more precise way of addressing responsibility with diligence, precision, and caution but also with enthusiasm. So it is in this spirit that I will distinguish three different levels of responsibility to religious freedom as a human right.

(more…)