The book is unique in bringing together leading scholars and respected religious leaders to address contemporary issues in the relationship of law, religion and the state. The book highlights the interaction between secular law and religion with particular attention being given to the implications for law and society, religious tolerance and freedom. The book focuses on the practical and topical issues that have arisen in recent years in Australia. As one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, a pioneer of multicutural policies in immigration and social justice, Australia is a revealing site for contemporary studies in a world afraid of immigration and terrorism., issues that are affecting much of the globe.
Despite the 1948 UN Declaration that freedom of thought, conscience and belief is a universal human right, contemporary political elites have resurrected the old Marxist idea that religion is a crutch for the weak. Contemporary political correctness would outlaw religious free speech whenever it offends. This collection of five research essays by Honour students, staff and friends of the University of Notre Dame's Sydney School of Law: - interrogates the philosophical idea of harm that underlies such offence, - tests whether religious free speech is entitled to the same protection as other speech, - notes the consequences of proscribing the free exercise of religion in totalitarian regimes, - identifies some of the ways in which new gender rights conflict with established freedoms, and - wonders why Singapore, the United States and Australia have all failed to implement the freedom of religion intended of religion in the 1948 UDHR and the 1966 ICCPR. The insights here are not all comfortable, but they confirm that human rights ideas do have consequences.
This volume focuses on issues that have only recently come to the forefront of the discipline such as freedom from religion, ordination of homosexuals, apostasy, security and fundamentalism, issues that are linked to the common themes of secularism and globalization. Although these subjects are not new to the academic debate, they have become prominent in law and religion circles as a result of recent and rapid changes in society. The essays in this volume present multiple points of view, facilitate scholars in understanding this evolving discipline and act as a stimulus for further research.This collection gives the reader a sense of the key topics and current debates in law and religion and is of interest to law, politics, human rights, and religion scholars.
This book examines major conceptual challenges confronting freedom of religion or belief in contemporary settings. It will be a valuable resource for students, academics, and policy-makers with an interest in law, religion, and human rights.
Law and Religious Pluralism in Canada seeks to elucidate the complex and often uneasy relationship between law and religion in democracies committed both to equal citizenship and religious pluralism. Leading socio-legal scholars consider the role of religious values in public decision making, government support for religious practices, and the restriction and accommodation by government of minority religious practices. They examine such current issues as the legal recognition of sharia arbitration, the re-definition of civil marriage, and the accommodation of religious practice in the public sphere.
In recent years, law and religion scholarship in Canada has grown significantly. This distinctive collection of 18 papers addresses, from a variety of angles, the jurisdiction and the limits of law ¿ an important but often overlooked aspect of settling the boundaries of church and state, religion and law. The volume draws the insights of 19 authoritative contributors of diverse background and examines changes in the role and meaning of religion in society, the dimensions of law and religion and finally, the conflicts between freedom of religion and other freedoms as looked upon as fundamental rights of a liberal society.
Following 9/11, increased attention has been given to the place of religion in the public sphere. Across the world, Law and Religion has developed as a sub-discipline and scholars have grappled with the meaning and effect of legal texts upon religion. The questions they ask, however, cannot be answered by reference to Law alone therefore their work has increasingly drawn upon work from other disciplines. This Research Handbook assists by providing introductory but provocative essays from experts on a range of concepts, perspectives and theories from other disciplines, which can be used to further Law and Religion scholarship.
Legally Married gives you all the the facts you need to develop an informed judgment regarding same-sex marriage in the UK and the US. It looks at the claims made on both sides of the debate, placing them in their historical context and contributing in a
Law and Religion in a Secular Age seeks to restore the connection between spirituality and justice, religion and law, theology and jurisprudence, and natural law and positive law by building a new bridge suitable for pluralistic societies in the secular age. The author argues for a multidimensional view of reality that includes legal, political, moral, and spiritual dimensions of human nature and society. Each of these dimensions of life needs to recognize the existence, influence, and function of the others, which act as a filter or check on the excesses of each other. This multidimensionality of reality clarifies why no legal theory can fully account for law from the legal dimension alone, just as no moral theory makes perfect sense of morality from the moral dimension?and, for that matter, nothing in physics can fully interpret the physical dimension of reality. The premises of a legal system cannot be fully explained by the legal dimension alone because the fundamental conditions and qualities of justice, freedom, and dignity touch all the dimensions of reality in which the human person acts, including the moral and the spiritual, not just the legal. Building on this multidimensional theory of reality, the author explores the core differences and the essential interconnections between law, morality, religion, and spirituality and some of the legal implications of these connections. Rafael Domingo reminds readers of the vital role of religion in shaping the conceptual framework of Western legal systems, underscores the spirit of Christianity that inspired legal institutions, principles, and values, and recalls the contributions of specific Christian jurists as central figures for the development of justice in society. Law and Religion in a Secular Age aims to be a valuable antidote against the dominant legal positivism that has cornered public morality, the defiant secularism that has marginalized religion, and any other legal doctrine that diminishes the spiritual dimension of law and justice.
This collection considers how contemporary cultural and religious diversity challenges and redefines national constitutional and legal frameworks and concepts, within the context of education. It offers a critical reflection on the extent and meanings given to religious freedom in education across Europe. The contributions deal primarily with Western Europe although the book also includes a study of the US vibrant debates on Creationism. This volume considers issues such as religious expression, faith schooling and worship in schools, in a multidisciplinary and comparative approach. The book first examines key concepts, before presenting national models of religion and education in Europe and analyzing case studies relating to religious symbols worn at school and to the teaching of religious education. Legal questions are examined in a wider context, in the light of the intentions of state policy and of current national and transnational debates. Controversies on the legal implications of personal and national identities are for example analyzed. From a comparative perspective, the chapters examine the possible converging power of human rights and anti-discrimination discourses and reveal the difficulties and risks involved in seeking to identify the best model for Europe. This topical study of a highly sensitive area of education presents a valuable insight for students, researchers and academics with an interest in cultural and religious diversity, human rights and education.
