Law and Religion in Theoretical and Historical Context

by Peter Cane, Carolyn Evans, Zoe Robinson

Overview

Is there a place for religious language in the public square? Which institution of government is best suited to deciding whether religion should influence law? Should states be required to treat religion and non-religion in the same way? How does the historical role of religion in a society influence the modern understanding of the role of religion in that society? This volume of essays examines the nature and scope of engagements between law and religion, addressing fundamental questions such as these. Contributors range from eminent scholars working in the fields of law and religion to important new voices who add vital and original ideas. From conservative to liberal, doctrinal to post-modernist and secular to religious, each contributor brings a different approach to the questions under discussion, resulting in a lively, passionate and thoughtful debate that adds light rather than heat to this complex area.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521425902
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/09/2008
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.17(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

Peter Cane is Professor of Law at the Australian National University College of Law. He is also a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Carolyn Evans is Deputy Director of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies and Associate Dean (Research) at Melbourne Law School.

Zoë Robinson is an early career researcher, having earned a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Carolyn Evans; 2. The moral economy of religious freedom Lawrence G. Sager; 3. Understanding the religion in freedom of religion Jeremy Webber; 4. Why religion belongs in the private sphere, not the public square Denise Meyerson; 5. Pluralism and Law and religion Margaret Davies; 6. The Influence of cultural conflict on the jurisprudence of the religion clauses of the First Amendment Michael W. McConnell; 7. From Dayton to Dover: the legacy of the Scopes trial Peter Radan; 8. A very English affair: establishment and human rights in an organic constitution Charlotte Smith; 9. Days of rest in multicultural societies: private, public, separate? Ruth Gavison and Nahshon Perez; 10. Australian Legal procedures and the protection of secret Aboriginal spiritual beliefs: a fundamental conflict Ernst Willheim; 11. Secular and religious conscientious exemptions: between tolerance and equality Yossi Nehushtan; 12. Law's sacred and secular subjects Ngaire Naffine; 13. Freedom of religion and the European Convention on Human Rights: Approaches, trends and tensions Malcolm D. Evans.