The Politics of Sanctity and Human Rights

CURA announces the spring 2026 colloquium schedule. This year-long conversation brings together an interdisciplinary community of scholars of culture, religion, and world affairs. Please register below for the session(s) you plan to attend. The April 3 workshop will feature a paper by Anat Biletzki, Albert Schweitzer Professor of Philosophy, Quinnipiac University.

Please note that reading the paper in advance is required for attendance. CURA workshops are dedicated to focused, in depth feedback and discussion. A copy of the paper(s) will be sent to registered participants one week in advance of each session.

Abstract: This article is currently a stand-alone piece (to be incorporated into a book – Political Despair), which entertains an opening, philosophical step proposing the idea of an essential political divorce between religion and human rights. It argues for that disconnection as a conceptual-terminological necessity born of the unbridgeable void between the sanctity demanded by religion and the humanity revered by human rights. I go on to show that the problematic abyss also exists in the “down-to-earth” practices of the institution of religion, resulting in insoluble self-questioning tensions.