Syukiyainen Leonid - Professor, Department of Theory and Law and Comparative Law, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Doctor of Juridical Sciences. Email:  leosyk@mail.ru
Address: National Research University — Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya str., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.

The article focuses on the development of the concept of human rights in the major modern religions and the comparison of the concepts with secular liberal theories. The sources of publications are the works of legal scholars and theologians, encyclicals of Vatican. The article notes that the impulse to the process was the decrease in the influence of the major religious theories which used to play a role in the development of the human right theory. (Undoubtedly, the world is obliged to the western world and Protestantism with recognizing the freedom of faith). Then, the major religions lost this domination and did not draw significant attention to the problem until the end of 20^th century. The domination in shaping and defending human rights came to the secular liberal theory. The author argues that the current religious theories on human rights as a response of churches of different religions to liberal thoughts. Buddhism sees in a person a particle of cosmos. It makes an accent on duties and responsibility is more important than fairness. The Orthodox doctrine uses the idea of conscience and dignity which requires getting a person released from sin. The doctrine of Islam agrees on the liberal theory though makes in practice focus on respect to local traditions and their conservation. The priority belongs to ethics but not the norms of international treaties and conventions. Some laws read that the state defends the rights of a person according to Sharia law. A person may criticize religion in public. The religion not tolerating criticism is totalitarian. However, Protestantism warns that human rights may be an instrument for those who has succeeded in life. The question on the possibility to take into account religious views within the framework of human rights legal theory remains open.