Freedom of Religion as the Foundation of Freedom and as the Basis of Human Rights: Response to Roger Trigg

Abstract

Religious Freedom is meant to refer to the systematic relation of freedom, tolerance and truth that shapes and qualifies all three con-cepts and has pluralism as a logical and systematic consequence of a religious freedom based on tolerance and truth. Two factors, which also prove both concepts to be compatible to the modern era, are crucial to qualifying freedom through religious freedom: (1) Their specific definition (by qualifying it as freedom of conscience) leads to change in perspective from the sphere of the general to the moment of individuality and thus to tolerance; (2) Their relation to truth leads to change of perspective from an absolute to a perspective under-standing of truth und with this to the appropriateness of a pluralism of definitions of truth.