“Okotie Eboh Street, Lagos, Nigeria” by Obinna Okerekeocha on Unsplash. Blasphemy is the “act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God” and laws upholding blasphemy as a crime fail to respect the human right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu (also known as Deborah Samuel) was…
Lagos, Nigeria by Nupo Deyon Daniel on Unsplash. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse federation of 36 autonomous states and the Federal Capital Territory. The political landscape is partly dominated by the ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC), which controls the executive arm of government and holds majority seats at both the Senate and…
Picture of The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria by James Gordon (CC BY 2.0) This article is part of our “Reassessing Democracy: Contemporary Perspectives” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Since the 9.11 attacks and subsequent Global War on Terror, one of the major fields of study related to…
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…
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…
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…
Mazah Hills, Jos, Nigeria. Photo by Victor Salami Oyale (CC BY-SA 4.0). In 2022, I was invited by Harvard Divinity School at Cambridge for a conference titled “Ecological Spiritualities” to present my paper, on African eco-spirituality. While preparing the paper with a focus on the Indigenous experience, I carried out a survey which revealed that, although several…
Advanced Introduction to Law and ReligionFrank S. Ravitch This literature highlight is drawn from Advanced Introduction to Law and Religion by Frank S. Ravitch (Edward Elgar 2023). The full book is available here. The following is a short excerpt from my newest book, Advanced Introduction to Law and Religion (Edward Elgar 2023) pages 3-9. This book is…
Trinity Church on Broadway and Wall Street, New York City. Photo by TLM1995 (CC BY-SA 4.0). In the relationship between law and religion, one side is in trouble. Historically, their ties were deep and meaningful. In the recent past, they dealt with many contentious issues, though none caused separation or divorce. The legacy of old…
Religious Diversity in Europe: Mediating the Past to the YoungRiho Altnurme, Elena Arigita, and Patrick Pasture The following is an introduction to Religious Diversity in Europe: Mediating the Past to the Young, edited by Riho Altnurme, Elena Arigita, and Patrick Pasture (Bloomsbury Publishing, March 2022). The full book is available here. This book is one result…