Public Theology as Practicing Theology from Below: Looking for the Right Sense of the ‘Human’ in Human Rights

Christian beliefs and values have played an important role in the formulation of modern human rights. However, this influence does not hide the delays and some difficulties that Christian churches have experienced in this area. A cultural evolutionary framework is proposed to make sense of this ambiguity. In this sense, Christian anthropology is presented as both an evolving body of ideas and a wisdom based on empirical experience. Such a model makes it possible to deal better with the issue of human rights, which is subject to evolutionary pressures and seeks to adapt to new challenges and contexts. Christian anthropology, after a conscious interaction with real experiences and challenges, could favour to provide insights and discernment for this development following some minimal criteria, such as avoiding harmful effects, increasing well-being, and becoming a reference for sociality and vitality.