Human rights and fundamental freedoms / professor Alexey Osipov

The concept of freedom and human rights is perplexing. For instance, it seems entirely permissible to destroy a person's soul through things like advertisements, literature, and television programs. This kind of destruction is especially harmful to young people, yet it goes unchallenged. Try speaking out against this; mention the word "censorship," and you'll face severe backlash. However, physical harm or theft is strictly prohibited—taking someone's wallet might be considered minor in comparison.
What baffles me is that while physical harm is forbidden, it's apparently acceptable to kill a person's soul or degrade their personality beyond recognition. This paradoxical notion of "rights" and "freedom" raises serious questions about our values.
Freedom can be categorized into three types: metaphysical freedom (the inherent ability to choose between good and evil), social freedom (what society permits us to do), and the most crucial yet unspoken freedom—freedom from violence, vanity, greed. Consider how much it costs for someone in USA to become a president or senator; these positions require millions of dollars. Is this true freedom? It seems more like a mockery of the concept.
The same applies to rights: promoting immoral content under the guise of personal rights undermines human dignity. Such so-called freedoms are fundamentally incompatible with Orthodox Christianity, which posits that genuine rights and freedoms must stem from love for humanity.
How can there be love when media glorifies violence and cruelty? The foundational principle for any social system should be love for fellow humans; without it, no true freedom exists. I fundamentally disagree with Berdyaev's claim that freedom precedes existence because placing freedom above being—and thus above God—is misguided.
Orthodoxy asserts that love should be the core principle guiding our acceptance or rejection of various freedoms. Without love, there can be no real liberty—a sentiment echoed by Ivan Aksakov when he said progress denying God ultimately leads to regression; civilization ends in loneliness while supposed freedoms devolve into despotism and slavery.
This critique offers an immediate response to Western notions of liberty: without grounding in divine love, such freedoms are hollow at best.

📌Osipov Alexei Ilyich is a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, Doctor of Theology
Archive of lectures and books on the official website of Osipov A.I.: alexey-osipov.ru

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