Canopy Forum is a digital publication from the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University that produces and delivers expert analysis to the broader community of digital consumers: citizens, scholars, lawyers, clergy, journalists, policy makers, and more.
The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University holds conferences and events that draw thousands of participants from the far corners of the world. Explore recorded versions of our esteemed speakers here!
This series shares important new works addressing issues at the intersection of law and religion. Here you’ll find excerpts, reviews, and commentary on the scholarship shaping our world today.
The Supreme Court delivered a precedent-setting decision on June 30, 2020, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The facts and holding of this case have already been addressed in the Canopy Forum, so I will only summarize them here. Then, following a brief discussion of the Court’s distinction between religious status and use, I will…
Many Americans gleam over Uncle Sam’s “wall of separation” between church and state. That this wall should be thick and tall perhaps became even more evident after President Trump posed weeks ago with a Bible minutes after having the National Guard use tear gas to expel peaceful protestors for his photo-op. Reverends and representatives alike…
“Have We Gone Too Far By Tearing Down Religious Monuments?” Adrienne Phillips Religious statues and monuments are prominent cultural, historical, and ecclesiastical focal points around the world. People travel thousands of miles to view them, express their religious devotions, or just admire the beauty. Lately, there has been a surging movement to take down statues…
Great Christian Jurists in French History edited by Olivier Descamps and Rafael Domingo This volume is part of a fifty-volume series on “Great Christian Jurists in World History, “presenting the interaction of law and Christianity through the biographies of 1000 legal figures of the past two millennia. Commissioned by the Center for the Study of…
An earlier version of this essay was originally published in the University of Chicago’s online publication, Sightings. Since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in the United States five months ago, the staggering effects of the virus, economic shutdown, and disrupted work and commerce have hit home. Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs,…
Amid efforts to reduce, if not eliminate, the spread of COVID-19, researchers are working on a vaccine to prevent future infections At the same time, given the fears of some parents that states are overriding their rights to opt out of having their children vaccinated, a looming COVID vaccination issue between the competing interests of…
The Medieval Luther edited by Christine Helmer Staging a conversation among distinguished Luther scholars, historians of Christianity, and philosophers, The Medieval Luther makes the case that it is impossible to understand Luther’s most important doctrines without exploring his philosophical inheritance. After all, Luther was an ardent participant in and contributor to the philosophical disputes of…
Great Christian Jurists in Spanish History edited byRafael Domingo and Javier Martínez-Torrón This volume is part of a 50-volume series on “Great Christian Jurists in World History, “presenting the interaction of law and Christianity through the biographies of 1000 legal figures of the past two millennia. Commissioned by the Center for the Study of Law…
The COVID-19 crisis has strained religious institutions, along with the rest of our accustomed social order. In a few cases, it has also provoked the latest drama in the complex encounter between religion and state. As the pandemic blazed, most churches and other religious institutions in the United States and elsewhere have suspended live gatherings,…
As the United States nears the grim milestone of 150,000 American coronavirus deaths and cases surge in many parts of the country, a number of states are pausing or reversing their reopening plans. Many states are also weighing whether to put back in place the numerical limits on indoor gatherings that existed before reopening, which…