Welcome to Canopy Forum

Welcome to Canopy Forum

Canopy Forum is a digital publication from the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. Our contributors deliver expert analysis on important issues of law and religion around the world.

Read More

Interactions Podcast

Interactions Podcast

The Interactions podcast, a podcast about the interactions between law and religion, is produced by the CSLR and distributed by Canopy Forum. Listen wherever you get your podcasts for article reads, roundtable discussions, and expert analysis.

Read More

Religion, Property Law, & Houses of Worship

Religion, Property Law, & Houses of Worship

Submit a 200-word proposal by February 17, 2023 to participate in our virtual conference about issues facing religious congregations and countless locales where houses of worship are falling into disrepair or vacancy.

Read More

Transgender Rights, Bathroom Bills, and the Families of Transgender Youth: A Conversation with Director Vlada Knowlton

Director Vlada Knowlton sat down with the Emory University community to talk about her recent film The Most Dangerous Year. You can watch the trailer for the film above and explore video excerpts from the Q&A below. Gender is a matter of perennial concern in legal and religious spheres, and its implications are often profound: a

“Rawlsian Public Reason and Religious Leadership of Public Officials” by M. Christian Green

Cover Image: U.S. Congressman Mike Pompeo in 2011. Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0 On May 30, 2019, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards—the only Democratic governor of a deep-south state—signed into law a “heartbeat bill” banning abortion after six weeks. In defending his decision, which contravenes the national Democratic Party’s platform plank on securing reproductive health and

“Brexit in Context” by Allen D. Kowalczyk

Cover image: Palace of Westminster, London. 2007. Wikimedia Commons. (CC BY-SA 2.5). To most Americans, the Brexit phenomenon is a uniquely European enigma. Images of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unruly tuft of blonde hair and Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow’s fuming face while moderating an argumentative Parliament are now ubiquitous on

“Immigration and Religious Identity in American Law” by Adina Jocelyn Langer

Note: This and other essays in this series were originally delivered as part of the Leadership and Multifaith Program symposium on Law, Religious Identity, and Public Discourse held at Georgia Tech on September 26, 2019. In my work as the curator of the Museum of History and Holocaust Education (MHHE) at Kennesaw State University, I

“More, Not Less, Religion May Be a Cure for America’s Political Ills” by Shlomo C. Pill

Note: This and other essays in this series were originally delivered as part of the Leadership and Multifaith Program symposium on Law, Religious Identity, and Public Discourse held at Georgia Tech on September 26, 2019. I agree with much of Judge Dhanidina’s rather dour diagnosis of our current societal ills.  We are indeed currently experiencing a crisis

“Keeping the Faith: What Secular Law Has Taught Me About Religion” by Halim Dhanidina

Note: This and other essays in this series were originally delivered as part of the Leadership and Multifaith Program symposium on Law, Religious Identity, and Public Discourse held at Georgia Tech on September 26, 2019. There is a current crisis of confidence in our democracy and secular institutions.  We have seen a simultaneous dwindling of

“The Ordination of Transgender Candidates in the Church of England” by Christopher Grout

Cover image: Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, UK. Original image by Philipp Haegi licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Editors’ note: The terms ‘transgender’ and ‘transsexual’ have connotations that have changed over time and in different contexts. The author of this article uses terminology that is consistent with the sources and documents cited herein.   The Church of England (‘the Church’)