Human Rights Watch on the Threat of Religion

The 2005 World Report of Human Rights Watch includes an essay by Jean-Paul Marthoz and Joseph Saunders that examines the evidence for "growing conflicts between religious communities and the human rights movement."  Here (thanks to Amy Welborn) is a link to an article in The Tablet, discussing the essay.  According to the article:

While the authors pay tribute to covergence of faith and secular groups on human rights issues in the 1970s and 1980s, they argue that today, on issues “at the crossroads of religious dogma and human rights ideology, of personal moral conviction and public health, the points of divergence are growing”. The secular groups are seen as taking rights-based positions on freedom of speech, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation and – perhaps most pertinently – “women’s reproductive rights” that clash with the positions of many religious groups.

The article (and the essay) are too long to excerpt here.  Check them out.  I would particularly welcome Michael P's reaction, given his work on religion and human rights.

Rick