From Booklist
Espousing an unpopular faith has cost thousands of men and women their freedom, their homes, even their lives. But while international agencies keep vigilant watch over the rights of political refugees, for example, no such agencies monitor or protect the rights of the devout. Distressed by this global negligence, Jesuit priest Drinan appeals to the world community for actions giving real force to the 1981 United Nations Declaration on Religious Freedom. Political leaders, Drinan argues, must create international covenants enforced by newly created world courts. He recognizes the difficulties in winning assent for his proposal. Moslem states will resist any international agreement that grants non-Moslems rights to proselytize within their boundaries, and Western leaders may balk at granting greater liberties to religious groups that condemn homosexuality and exclude women from leadership. Secretive and coercive cults pose special problems for those who advocate religious freedom. Still, Drinan hopes far-seeing diplomats will surmount the difficulties as they find ways to safeguard the deepest of all freedoms: the freedom of the conscience. Bryce Christensen
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Review
"No one is better placed than Robert Drinan to tackle the intersection between religious freedom and the public world. In this book he does that incisively, making complex issues accessible and abstract problems personal. Religious freedom may constitute the greatest challenge of our age. In Father Drinan we have an astute guide at hand to lead us on our way."—William F. Schulz, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA


Book Description
Father Robert F. Drinan--priest, scholar, lawyer, politician, activist, and ethicist--has spent his life working to strengthen human rights. In this important book, Father Drinan explores the state of religious freedom worldwide, arguing that international law and legal institutions have not gone far enough to protect religious freedom. The international community, says Father Drinan, has been slow to recognize the urgent need of balancing the requirements of a pluralistic society with the demands of religious freedom.

Despite numerous proclamations from the United Nations and from individual nations about the importance of religious freedom, says Father Drinan, there is still no covenant, legally binding instrument, or world tribunal to monitor freedom of religion. Drinan explores the status of religious freedom in certain Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Communist societies whose doctrines may promote intolerance. And he asserts that the silence of international law allows nations to continue to punish persons who practice a faith viewed unfavorably by the government.


About the Author
Robert F. Drinan, S.J., professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, has had a long and distinguished career. He has been a visiting professor at four American universities and dean of the Boston College Law School. He was a United States Congressman for five terms as a Representative from Massachusetts. He has served on public and privately sponsored delegations and human rights missions to many countries and has been a member of numerous committees devoted to the furtherance of human rights. Father Drinan has received numerous awards, the most recent being the 2003 Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute’s Freedom of Worship medal. He is also the author of eleven previous books.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"In this book, Father Drinan explores the state of religious freedom worldwide, arguing that international law and legal institutions have not gone far enough to protect religious freedom. The international community, says Father Drinan, has been slow to recognize the urgent need of balancing the requirements of a pluralistic society with the demands of religious freedom." Despite numerous proclamations from the United Nations and from individual nations about the importance of religious freedom, says Father Drinan, there is still no covenant, legally binding instrument, or world tribunal to monitor freedom of religion. Drinan explores the status of religious freedom in certain Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Communist societies whose doctrines may promote intolerance. And he asserts that the silence of international law allows nations to continue to punish persons who practice a faith viewed unfavorably by the government.

FROM THE CRITICS

John T. Noonan Jr. - The New York Times