Home⇛Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives⇛vol. 2 no. 12 (2024)

Sustainable Development and Human Rights: Christianity as Mediator

Ryan Vincent F. Alisaca

Discipline: theology and religious studies

 

Abstract:

This paper aims to show that there is a tension if not a total contradiction, between the notion of sustainable development and the idea of human rights and that Christianity, especially as practiced by Filipinos, can be a starting point for a reflection of a reconciliation of the tension. The paper is divided into four parts. First, a short inquiry into the origin of sustainable development will be made, and it will be shown that sustainable development is closely related to environmentalism. That is to say, caring for the environment is a crucial point of discussion when talking about sustainable development. In the second part, a discussion on human rights will be conducted, especially on human rights, understood as subjective rights usually spoken of using proprietary language. That is to say, human rights are conceived as property. In the third part, it will be shown that sustainable development, understood in tandem with environmentalism, is in tension with the notion of human rights, especially when conceived as subjective rights. The contradiction is usually most apparent in the legal and juridical sphere, and three cases will be given in this regard. In the last part, it is asserted that it is possible to attempt to give some semblance of reconciliation between the two notions above in tension by showing how the specific brand of Christianity practiced by Filipinos, especially as guided by Christian Philosophy, can help least in the theoretical level. It should be noted that what is asserted is not a full-blown solution to the tension. Indeed, Filipino Christianity can only be a starting point of reflection for the reconciliation.



References:

  1. Anton, D.K., & Shelton, D.L. (2011). Environmental Protection and Human Rights. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Atapattu, S., & Schapper, A. (2019). Human Rights and the Environment. Routledge.
  3. Austine, R., & Eder, J. (2007). Environmentalism, Development, and Participation on Palawan Island, Philippines. Society and Natural Resources: An International Journal, 20(4), 363-371. https//doi.org/10.1080/08941920601161379
  4. Beckerman, W. (1999). Sustainable Development and Our Obligations to Future Generations. In A. Dobson (Ed.), Fairness and Futurity (pp. 71-92). Oxford University Press.
  5. Biggar, N. (2020). What’s Wrong With Rights. Oxford University Press.
  6. Clark, R.D. (2013). Environmental Disputes and Human Rights Violations: A Role for Criminologists. In R. White (Ed.), Transnational Environmental Crime. (pp. 129-46). Routledge.
  7. Columnella, L.J.M. (1941). On Agriculture In Three Volumes. Res Rustica I-IV (H.B. Ash, trans.). Harvard University Press.
  8. Del Castillo, F., & Alino, M.A. (2020). Religious Coping of Selected Filipino Catholic Youth. Religions 11(462), 1-12. https//doi.org/10.3390/rel11090462
  9. Del Castillo, F. (2015). Gospel-Culture Relationship of Traditional Filipino Religion and Catholicism. The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 6(2), 41-47. https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8633/CGP/v06i02/51010
  10. Donelly, J., & Whelan, D.J. (2020). Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. Routledge.
  11. Dovers, S.R., & Handmer, J.W. (1993). Contradictions in Sustainability. Environmental Conservation, 20(3), 217-22. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900022992
  12. Folkesson, E. (2013). Human Rights Courts Interpreting Sustainable Development: Balancing Individual Rights and Collective Interest. Erasmus Law Review, 2, 142-154. https://doi.org/10.5553/ELR.000005
  13. Fouto, A.C. (2019). Revisiting Subjectivity in Rights Theorists. Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 75(2), 1103-1124. https://doi.org/10.17990/RPF/2019_75_2_1103
  14. Freeman, M. (1996). Human Rights, Democracy and ‘Asian Values.’ The Pacific Review, 9(3), 352-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512749608719191
  15. Gewirth, A. (1996). The Community of Rights. University of Chicago Press.
  16. Gibbons, R. (2019). For The Life of the World: An Eastern Christian Approach to Nature and Environmental Care. Peter Lang.
  17. Gilabert, P. (2018). Human Dignity and Human Rights. Oxford University Press.
  18. Gould, C.C. (2004). Globalizing Democracy and Human Rights. Cambridge University Press.
  19. Griffin, J. (2008). On Human Rights. Oxford University Press.
  20. Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of Commons. Science, New Series, 162(3859), 1243-1248. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1724745
  21. Hobbes, T. (1998). Leviathan. Oxford University Press
  22. Kuhlman, T., & Farrington, J. (2010). What is Sustainability? Sustainability, 2(11), 3426-3448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su2113436
  23. Lacroix, J., & Panchere, J. (2018). Human Rights on Trial: A Genealogy of the Critique of Human Rights (G. Maas, trans.). Cambridge University Press
  24. Lugard, S. B. (2016). Clash of Property and Environmental Rights in the Niger Delta. Journal of Sustainable Development, Law & Policy, 7(1), 43-63. https://doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i1.3
  25. Macaranas, J. R. (2021). Understanding Folk Religiosity in the Philippines. Religions, 12(800), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12100800
  26. Macdonald, C. (2004). Folk Catholicism and Pre-Spanish Religions in the Philippines. Philippine Studies, 52(1), 78-93. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42633685
  27. Malthus, T. (2018). An Essay on the Principle of Population: The 1803 Edition. Yale University Press
  28. Maritain, J. (1949). Introduction. In UNESCO (Ed.), Human Rights: Comments and Interpretations (pp. 9-17). Allan Wingate.
  29. Marx, K. (1978). On the Jewish Question. In The Marx-Engles Reader (R. Tucker, trans.). Norton & Company
  30. Mautner, T. (2013). How Rights Became ‘Subjective’. Ratio Juris, 26(1), 111-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/raju.12005
  31. McInerney-Lankford, S. (2017). Human Rights and SDGs: Progress or a Missed Opportunity? Retrieved from https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.u
  32. Meadowcroft, J. (2024). Sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/sustainability
  33. Milbank, J. (2012). Against Human Rights: Liberty in the Western Tradition. Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 1(1), 203-234. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwr014
  34. Mill, J. S. (2004). Principles of Political Economy. Hacket Publishing
  35. Mutua, M. (2002). Human Rights: A Political and Cultural Critique. University of Pennsylvania Press
  36. Newcomb, M. (2023). Religion, Narrative, and the Environmental Humanities. Bridging the Gap. Routledge
  37. Nita, M. (2016). Praying and Campaigning with Environmental Christians. Green Religion and Climate Movement. Palgrave Macmillan
  38. Nussbaum, M.C. (2000). Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University Press
  39. O’Donovan, J. L. (2003). Rights, Law, and Political Community: A Theological and Historical Perspective. Transformation, 20(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/026537880302000103
  40. Pietrewicz, J. (2021). Clash of Interests on the Path of Sustainable Development Implementation. European Research Studies Journal, 24(4), 322-331. https://doi.org/10.35808/ersj/2658
  41. Pisani, J. (2006). Sustainable Development – Historical Roots of the Concept. Environmental Sciences, 3(2), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/15693430600688831   
  42. Purvis, B., Mao, Y. & Robinson, D. (2019). Three Pillars of Sustainability: In Search of Conceptual Origins. Sustainability Science, 14, 681-695. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0627-5
  43. Sachs, W. (2004). Environment and Human Rights. Development, 47(1), 42-49. https//doi:10.1057/palgrave.dev.1100016
  44. Shelton, D.L. (2012). Resolving Conflicts Between Human Rights and Environmental Protection: Is There a Hierarchy? In E.D. Wet & J. Vidmar (Eds.), Hierarchy in International Law: The Place of Human Rights (pp. 236-235). Oxford University Press
  45. Shi, L., Han, L., Yang, F., & Gao, L. (2019). The Evolution of Sustainable Development Theory: Types, Goals, Research Prospects. Sustainability 11, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247158
  46. Strauss, L. (1953). Natural Right and History. University of Chicago Press
  47. Tierney, B. (1997). The Idea of Natural Rights. William E. Eerdmans Publishing Company
  48. Woods, K. (2010). Human Rights and Environmental Sustainability. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Tools


Copyright © 2024  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic