Abstract
This article focuses on the insight of Professor John Witte Jr., (b. 1959) in relation to human rights and religion. Witte has a distinctive theological path with vast scholarly works in connection to ethics, law and human rights at the Emory University in Atlanta.
Although the origin of human rights has been interpreted differently by many authors in the past. However, Witte's exposure to the emergence of modern human rights gives attention to its religious roots and the establishment of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The concept of religious freedom and individual rights was paramount in Calvinism, while the Papacy also tried in the reformation of its Canon Law. The 1948 United Nations Human Rights Charter came at a time when the project of human rights became inevitable after the mass atrocities caused by World War II.
This article will, therefore, give a unique understanding of the emergence of modern human rights through a religious dialogue.