LAW 655 - Law and Religion Seminar

Course Type: Upper Writing Requirement
Credits: 2

Description: Drawing on examples from diverse periods and legal cultures, this seminar addresses law and “religion” as two realms of life that have much shared history and continue to intersect in the modern world. Several important topics in comparative law and jurisprudence are covered, including authority and legitimacy, the relation between custom and statute, legal pluralism, church-state relations, and competing models of constitutional secularism. A selective survey of legal systems and practices rooted in particular religious traditions will be followed by an examination of how secular legal systems conceptualize religion and balance the protection of religious freedom with their standards of equity and neutrality. Students will write biweekly responses to analytical questions, as well as a research paper.