“Three Contemporary Catholic Approaches to Democracy” by Matthew P. Cavedon

Image: Church Altar Pews (Pixabay) This article is part of our “Reassessing Democracy: Contemporary Perspectives” series. If you’d like to explore other articles in this series, click here. T here is no single Catholic political philosophy. Some intellectuals, like twentieth-century philosopher Heinrich Rommen, have even suggested that “Catholic political philosophy” is a contradiction in terms, given the

“Reassessing Democracy: Contemporary Christian and Islamic Perspectives” by Whittney Barth

Picture of the Chicago Skyline from Grant Park in by James Conkis (CC BY-SA 4.0). This essay is an introduction to our thematic series, “Reassessing Democracy: Contemporary Christian and Islamic Perspectives.” How do religious communities approach democracy? What religious beliefs, practices, and histories inform those views? And what does democracy look like when viewed through

“How German Muslims and Christians Criticize Capitalism” by Christian Sperneac-Wolfer

Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Throughout its history, capitalism has been met with harsh religious resistance and objections. Today, both Islam and Christianity continue to criticize capitalist economies and societies for injustice, exploitation, and the concept of humanity. In such criticism of economy and society, actors refer to religious ideas to reinterpret their situation, ideas

“Under the Protection of God: Does the Preamble of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 Allow Freedom of Expression solely for Christians?” by Damião Benilson Gomes de Melo, Rafaela Albuquerque Fires & J. Ernesto Pimentel Filho

Picture of the Supremo Tribunal Federal in Brazil by Dennis W. Asfour (CC BY-SA 4.0). In Brazil, the constitutional preamble of the 1988 Federal Constitution contains the expression “under the protection of God,” which has sparked debates for many years regarding its legally binding relevance. A landmark decision (the ADI 2076) even addressed whether the

“Watering the Seeds of Consciousness through Sound : Logos, Shabd, and the Implications for Natural Law” by Sunil Rao

Heraclitus, ‘the weeping philosopher’, by Johannes Moreelse (PD-US). The human inclination to search for timeless and transcendent truths, and transform them into laws that promote justice, is deeply rooted in our collective consciousness. It also lies at the heart of classical natural law theory, which has its roots in ancient Greek philosophy and Christian theology.

“Faith in Interpretation” by Aaron J. Walayat

Abraham and the Angels by Andries Snellinck (PD-US). What is the relationship between faith and constitutional interpretation? Superficially understood, this could refer to popular polemic of taking the specific religious faiths (religious affiliations) of Supreme Court justices, reducing these affiliations to political opinions, and construing these observations with the justice’s interpretive ideology. More esoterically, “faith”

“‘Luminous and Obscure’: Into the Depths of Constitutional Meaning” by Perry Dane

James West investigating the Constitution. From NASA (PD-US). Let’s explore an out of the ordinary way of thinking about the relation between religion and accounts of constitutional interpretation. In a recent article, I argued against the theory of “original public meaning” in constitutional and other legal interpretation, pointing to a “distinct, deadly, bit of intractable

“The Right to Conscientious Objection Under Martial Law in Ukraine” by Illia Roskoshnyi

From the President of Ukraine (PD-US). The right to conscientious objection to military service as a fundamental human right is recognized and guaranteed at the international level. This opposition may rest upon reasons of religious belief, philosophy, morality, ethicality, emotional or political grounds. However, at the same time, the recognition of the right to conscientious

“Iran’s Political Agenda: Women’s Bodies at the Intersection of Religion and Law” by Faegheh Shirazi

A sign with “Woman, Life, Freedom” (Jin, Jiyan Azadi) in Central and Northern Kurdish by Pirehelokan (CC BY-SA 4.0). As a scholar in the field of Islamic studies and material culture since the early 1990s, I have continually read and written about veiling and the hijab in Muslim cultures. In Iran, the hijab has had

“Chinese Persecution of the Uyghur: A Case of Genocide” by Ali Çaksu

Demonstration for Uyghur rights in Berlin by Leonhard Lenz (CC0 1.0). Uyghurs are a Muslim Turkic people who have been living for a few millennia in East Turkistan or Uyghuristan, which was called Xinjiang (New Territories) in the Chinese language following Chinese invasion. The Uyghur nation has members of ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, Tajiks, and