In comparing the ways in which China, Taiwan and Hong Kong punish religious claims and practices considered by the state to be false or fraudulent, Jianlin Chen presents a seminal contribution to the interdisciplinary study of religious freedom. The book not only reveals how these legal tools sustain a hierarchy of religion, but also the political dynamic behind the design and utilization of these legal tools.
Nationally recognized litigator, Daniel P. Dalton, shares expert insights on litigating three types of religious property disputes. This information will be valuable for religious organizations and their counsel.
In comparing the ways in which China, Taiwan and Hong Kong punish religious claims and practices considered by the state to be false or fraudulent, Jianlin Chen presents a seminal contribution to the interdisciplinary study of religious freedom. The book not only reveals how these legal tools sustain a hierarchy of religion, but also the political dynamic behind the design and utilization of these legal tools. Adopting a novel, comparative approach, Chen adeptly investigates various legal tools employed to regulate religious fraud in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Through a systematic survey of court judgments, he identifies the surprising convergences among the religious fraud regulations across the three jurisdictions. He further employs public choice analysis to tease out the reasons behind these often unconstitutional religious fraud regulations, and highlights the complicity of individuals who otherwise advocate for liberal democratic values. With its wealth of legal and political analysis, the book critically interjects in the global inquiry of religious freedom and democratic backsliding. This progressive book is an important touchstone for scholars and students in Asian studies, law and religion, criminal law and justice, and law and society.
"The growing presence in Western society of non-mainstream faiths and spiritual practices poses a dilemma for the law. If a fortune teller promises to tell the future in exchange for cash, and both parties believe in the process, has a fraud been committed? Should someone with a potpourri of New Age beliefs be accorded the same legal protection as a devout Catholic? Building on a thorough history of the legal regulation of fortune-telling laws in four countries, "Faith or Fraud" examines the impact of people who identify as "spiritual but not religious" on the future legal understanding of religious freedom. Traditional legal notions of religious freedom have been conceived and articulated in the context of monotheistic, organized religions that impose moral constraints on adherents. Jeremy Patrick examines how the law needs to adapt to a contemporary spirituality in which individuals select concepts drawn from multiple religions, philosophies, and folklore to develop their own idiosyncratic belief systems. "Faith or Fraud" exposes the law's failure to recognize individual spirituality as part of modern religious practice, concluding that the legal conception of religious freedom has not evolved to keep pace with religion itself."--
This book is a guide to every aspiring leader who desires to succeed in politics. You will learn how to seize power in less than 30 minutes. Illustrated with real-life examples of how others succeeded. It aims to equip the reader with vital tools to succeed where others failed and to safeguard the reader against possible pitfalls schemed by custodians of power. Some of the principles explained in this book can find useful applications even in other public sectors where power is desired With its rich explanations, a politician is exposed to hidden laws and secrets which have been exclusively preserved by the aristocracy. With such knowledge, the reader can stir up cascade of events that will change his destiny forever
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
Offering an interdisciplinary, international and philosophical perspective, this comprehensive Research Handbook explores both perennial and recent legal issues that concern the modern state and its interaction with religious communities and individuals.
Home cooks and gourmets, chefs and restaurateurs, epicures, and simple food lovers of all stripes will delight in this smorgasbord of the history and culture of food and drink. Professor of Culinary History Andrew Smith and nearly 200 authors bring together in 770 entries the scholarship on wide-ranging topics from airline and funeral food to fad diets and fast food; drinks like lemonade, Kool-Aid, and Tang; foodstuffs like Jell-O, Twinkies, and Spam; and Dagwood, hoagie, and Sloppy Joe sandwiches.
