The Christian Roots of Human Dignity

In order to respect every human being in its own personality as a person with inalienable rights one needs a set of ethical values as an absolute foundation to which reference is possible when needed. This kind of absolute anthropological postulate stands contrary to the relativism in human rights that makes human dignity a value determined by utilitarian ideas of the human being.

Instead of respecting the dignity of human life in every point of its development as unquestionable, utilitarian arguments dominate the discussion concerning biotechnology, life science and medical care and led recently to the question of whether torture should be permitted under the circumstances of global terrorism and organized crime.

Holding an absolute concept of human dignity has nothing to do with ignorance toward world problems or toward the blessings of scientific progress but with a firm understanding of what a human being is within Christian anthropology: a creation of God, not only as a part of His universal creation, but as its crown and as God’s image. These are the central aspects of the Christian religion concerning the human being: that personal dignitas humana comes directly from the belief in man as the crown of creation, as God’s image.

As a conclusion, the third aspect is what Luther called dignitas aliena. Human beings cannot produce, found, establish or even take dignity on their own, for instance, by behavior, scientific progress or economical performance. Human beings as a creation of God still depend on their creator, for dignity is not a quality of man, but a gift of God. This gift uplifts man, whether young or old, sick or healthy, poor or rich, mentally disabled or not.

Dignity is applied in a right way when it empowers respect for others. The reciprocity of the concept of dignitas aliena leads in the end to the congruence of self-respect and respect for others, which reveals the deep mystery of Christian anthropology, based on two aspects: 1) Dignity is not one’s own, but God’s gift. 2) Therefore, self-respect and respect for others amount to the same: respect for God.