Religion and Human Rights Pragmatism

Photos: ISAF Media, Mike Barwood

What is the most effective way to produce the best human rights outcomes? Can religious leaders be advocates for meaningful, positive change? Religion and Human Rights Pragmatism, led by American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow and Columbia University’s Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Relations Jack Snyder, seeks to explore more pragmatic, bottom-up methods of combating human rights abuses. A key theme of this approach is the significance of community-based religious discourse and organization in determining the prospects for rights improvements.