Religion and Human Rights (cont'd)

In response to Jonathan Watson's comment, Brian Tamanaha reiterates his point about the connection between religion and human rights:

There is no doubt that human rights can be traced back historically to religious influences (and the same can be said of aspects of European culture).  There is no doubt that much of morality generally has important religious influences (past and present).  There is no doubt that religion can and does lend important support to human rights today. I did not and would not argue against any of these points.  My post does not diminish the significance of religion in any of these respects. These points do not, however, establish that atheists are less moral or less able to support human rights, which was the focus of my post.

Specifically, my post defends the soundness of non-religious commitments to human rights against Perry's arguments that, because atheists lack a foundation for believing in human dignity, religious grounds for human rights are more coherent and hence superior.  The thrust of my argument is that both religious folks and atheists are equally vulnerable to the assertion that we lack a foundation for our beliefs.  In the end, I assert, we both get beyond this by making a commitment (an act of faith) to embrace our beliefs.