Current Call for Submissions

In addition to its regular content explaining and commenting on a wide range of topics, Canopy Forum also publishes thematic series addressing issues at the intersection of law and religion from a range of perspectives. These series explore important current concerns through a series of essays or other multimedia content published over the course of several days or weeks, and aim to spark further conversations among our readers about how best to think about and deliberate on these questions.

How Does Religion Engage Democracy? 

A recent Canopy Forum essay on Christian nationalism argued for greater scholarly attention to “numerous efforts, throughout the history of Western Christianity, to provide theological and biblical support for key elements, at least, of modern constitutional democracy.” One of the earliest conference anthologies published by CSLR was titled Christianity and Democracy in Global Context (Westview, 1993; reprint edition Routledge, 2019). As the introduction to that volume, authored by the book’s editor John Witte, Jr. put it presciently and prophetically:

In the past, Christianity has had both positive and negative influences on democracy. Christian churches have served as benevolent agents of welfare and catalysts of political reform. But they have also served as belligerent allies of repression and censors of human rights. Christian theologies have helped to cultivate democratic ideals of equality, liberty, and responsibility. But they have also helped to perpetuate repressive ideas of statism, elitism, and chauvinism. In the future, traditional Christian attitudes and actions concerning democracy will face formidable challenges—both from inside and outside the Christian community.

The statement above pertains to Christianity, but it is possible that much of the same could be said for Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, indigenous and other religious traditions around the world. With this in mind, we call for essays on the following topics:

• How does religion in general or particular religions support or oppose democracy, both within the religion itself and as a mode of civil and national governance?
• What theological concepts, ethical teachings, and social movements support democracy in particular religious traditions?
• What are some anti-democratic tendencies and dimensions of religion and how do this manifest within religions and their relation to society or the political realm?
• How do religious groups work and advocate for or against democracy in society?
• What political frameworks do religions posit or promote as religious alternatives to democracy? 

Submissions will be considered for publication on a rolling basis; however, we would prefer submissions for this call by October 5th. Submit your essay at canopyforum@emory.edu.

The Role of Law and Religion in Immigration Policies and Activism

In Spring 2025, Canopy Forum and the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University will host a virtual conference focused on the intersection of law, religion, and immigration. 

Global migration has been on the rise, and, consequently, so too has religious diversity within and across nations. Many of these immigrants flee to escape conflict, violence, and even for religious reasons, with churches and other religious organizations offering pastoral, religious, physical and even legal care for migrants. Indeed, many nations stress legal protections for immigrants seeking freedom of religious expression. Still, controversies and polemics swirl around immigrants, immigration laws, the role of the state in connection to religious immigrants, and religious protection questions. To be sure, questions of global immigration, religious plurality, and the state are complicated by economic, social, legal, theological, and cultural questions that merit analysis and attention.

We are accepting submissions and presentations on the following: 

• What are (or ought to be) the roles of law and religion in immigration policy? 
• What are the roles of scholars, agencies, and churches in drafting or reforming immigration policies? To what extent can scholars collaborate in creating inclusive and welcoming policies regarding immigration?
• How can we measure religious plurality and diversity across different countries when thinking about new or ongoing waves of migration/immigration?
• How do different churches and religious organizations address immigration, whether through reform or activism? What role do these churches and religious organizations play in welcoming, aiding, and/or incorporating immigrants and migrants into their new communities?
• Through what sorts of ministries and programs do religious groups assist in illegal immigration practices and projects? What are the ethical considerations of these practices? 
• How do immigration detention centers, including pre- and post-detention practices respect/or deny illegal immigrants the ability to practice their religion? What religious services are available to immigrants in detention centers and whether religious groups engage with immigrants in detention centers?
• How does gender, race, and religion affect practices of border control and immigration detention? 
• What is the role of religion in rhetoric or activism against immigrants? Does religion influence exclusionary practices against migrants and asylum seekers?

This series includes both presentation and submission components. Symposium date is pending, but we are accepting submissions until November 30^th for this series. For more information, please email canopyforum@emory.edu.

“Looking Back” In Law and Religion

In recent years, some jurisdictions have created or reinstated “look-back” statutes extending the period within which survivors, particularly of sexual violence or child sexual abuse. These statutes are justified as responses to the long periods of time that it can take for survivors to come forward to report these crimes or to grow up to be adults who can pursue their claims in court. However, “look-back” statutes have been criticized for unsettling the law by allowing claims to proceed long after probative witnesses, evidence, and memories may have become difficult to access. Additionally, many of the “look-back” cases involve claims against religious bodies that can be costly to insure and defend against. Some religious groups have sought to address these claims within religious bodies and through religious law, rather than through civil and criminal law, with varying effects. And recently, the supreme court in the state of Louisiana overturned “look-back” laws in a ruling that they then reconsidered.

Law and religion may have distinctive, but sometimes overlapping, understandings of time, memory, agency, and responsibility for addressing cases of past wrongs. With this in mind we call for essays that explore: 

• Theological and ethical concepts that inform how secular or civil law and religious traditions or institutions adjudicate past crimes and wrongs.
• Perspectives on the function and operation of “look-back” laws in cases of sexual abuse involving religious organizations. 
• Assessments of defenses and criticisms of “look-back” laws from both legal and religious perspectives. 
• Defenses and opposition to “look-back” laws by religious organization defendants and the lawyers they employ.
• Efficacy of “look-back” laws under criminal theories of retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and justice. 

Submissions will be considered for publication on a rolling basis. Submit your essay at canopyforum@emory.edu.

New Topics in Law and Religion

Canopy Forum seeks short articles and multimedia submissions that introduce our readers to new and emerging topics in law and religion. We are currently accepting submissions that address the following:

• Relationships between law and religion in global perspective with topics including but not limited to immigration, education, policy-making, religious freedom or persecution, voting rights, family law, military conflict, the environment, or other issues pertaining to law, religion, and public policy
• Other matters – historical or contemporary – that shed light on the intersections of law and religion 

Submissions will be considered for publication on a rolling basis. Submit your essay at canopyforum@emory.edu.

Please send general inquires and submit contributions to
canopyforum@emory.edu

Canopy Forum welcomes submissions from experts in the field(s) of law and religion, as well as other relevant disciplines, such as theology, ethics, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, political science, history, and other fields. Submissions should be between 1,500-2,500 words (though longer pieces may be considered) and written in a generally accessible style, with embedded links rather than footnotes for supporting materials. When referencing sources, we encourage contributors to use hyperlinks. Additionally, court decisions should be linked once to the first reference to that case, using the full case name (i.e., “In its recent ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the Supreme Court held …”), and, whenever possible, link to the case’s page on the SCOTUS Religion Cases database. Academic papers and presentations should be adapted or rewritten accordingly.