Abrahamic religions tradition claims that the Jews are descended from Abraham, and adherents of Judaism derive their spiritual identity from Abraham as the first of the three "fathers" or biblical Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All the major Abrahamic religions claim a direct lineage to Abraham, although in Christianity this is understood in spiritual terms: Adam Dodds argues that the term "Abrahamic faiths", while helpful, can be considered misleading, as it conveys an unspecified historical and theological commonality that is problematic on closer examination. While there is commonality among the religions, in large measure their shared ancestry is peripheral to their respective
Global Conferences on World's Religions after September 11 rights discourse. This more positive approach to the relationship between religion and human rights is evident in the various documents on human rights produced by the religions of the world, some of which are enumerated below. All these and similar declarations engage the issue of religion and human rights but from the perspective of only a "single" religious tradition, just as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and so on. What is unique about the three conferences mentioned above is the fact that they represent a progressive effort to formulate a joint response from the world's religions to the Universal Declaration of