Image by Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 3.0 On a global level, religious institutions influence the transformations of law in a variety of ways. Many of the world’s most influential religions, such as Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism, contain their own legal systems that interact with secular state law. In addition to these larger systems that drive religious legal change, individuals…
B. K. Dewey / Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0 One of the most striking trends in religion clause jurisprudence is the expansion of protection for religious exercise. This includes expanded protection under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and its state counterparts. Often the litigant is a conservative Christian opposed to a progressive development,…
Low Angle Photo of Brown and Gray Cathedral during Daytime by Kris Schulze (Pexels CC) The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) was described by the then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice as an “important and groundbreaking piece of legislation,” as well as “the greatest advance towards equality for lesbian, gay,…
Pixabay (License) An earlier Spanish-language version of this essay was recently published on CNN en Español. Recently, the Catholic Church has begun an internal conversation about ordaining married men as priests. This move would mark a significant change from what has been the settled policy of the Latin Church for a thousand years, under which…
Pixabay (License) Natural law and human rights language is directly connected to discussions about human nature. Public rhetoric describing specific communities often shapes our discussions about the way natural law and human rights are applied to those communities. Given the current U.S. presidential administration’s public rhetoric about Latinx and undocumented communities, it is important to…
Pixabay (License) During a speech at the United Nations on September 23, 2019, President Trump stated that “protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities.” This claim, however, has some advocates of threatened religious minorities crying foul. They argue that Trump has not made good on his promise, citing his ever-shrinking limit on the…
Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago, United States, 1893. Wikimedia. Part three of this series on interfaith dialogue focuses on religious literacy. Religious illiteracy is a widespread phenomenon and can seriously hamper attempts to engage in at least some forms of interfaith dialogue. Notably, this problem is not exclusively one of interfaith illiteracy as many…
Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago, United States, 1893 (Wikimedia) (Public Domain). Part two of this three-part series on interfaith dialogue explains several different forms of interfaith dialogue, highlighting some of the benefits and limitations of each, and explores the relevance of religious and interfaith literacy as an important tool for effective interfaith dialogue. [Read Part…
Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago, United States, 1893 (Wikimedia) This is the first part of a three-part series exploring some of the methods, possibilities, and skills needed to effectively engage in interfaith dialogue and activity. History of Interfaith Engagement Interfaith engagement is hardly a new phenomenon. The most basic kind of interfaith activity—what is…
(Abbey, Church, Interiors image) (Pixabay) Many members of the United Methodist Church (UMC) woke up to unexpected news earlier this month when it was announced some leaders of the UMC had met in private and negotiated through mediation the terms for a division of the denomination. The UMC, one of the largest Christian denominations in…