November
Witte Christianity Today article on Shari`a now available as PDF
CSLR Director John Witte, Jr.'s article in the November issue of Christianity Today, "Shari'ah's Uphill Climb Does Muslim law have a place in the American landscape?," is available for downloading.
CSLR names Silas Allard associate director
The Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) at Emory University has named Silas Allard, a distinguished alumnus of its joint degree program in law and religion, as Associate Director, to begin in August 2013.
September
Top Christian scholars to be featured in new lecture series
The Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) at Emory University has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the McDonald Agape Foundation to create a new lecture series designed to showcase the world¿s preeminent Christian scholars on law, politics, and society.
New Book Seeks to Resurrect a Christian Political Theology
With a U.S. Presidential election rapidly approaching, political pundits and politicians are spending considerable time addressing the role of religion and religious principals in governing the nation.
Visiting faculty join CSLR for 2012-2013 year
CSLR welcomes several visiting professors over the course of this academic year. Rafael Domingo, former dean of the University of Navarra Law School, will be in residence during 2013 working on issues of Catholicism and jurisprudence.
CSLR alumni, student update
Joel Nichols (JD/MDiv ¿00), professor of law at University of St. Thomas Law (Minneapolis, MN) has been promoted to full professor. Sharon Tan (JD/MTS ¿91; PhD ¿00), McVay Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at United Theological Seminary (Twin Cities), was recently awarded tenure.
CSLR Senior Fellow update
CSLR Senior Fellow Mark Jordan joined the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis this fall as a Distinguished Professor in the Humanities.
Alexander shares lessons learned from U.S. foreclosure crisis with global audience
CSLR Founding Director Frank S. Alexander offered lessons learned from the U.S. mortgage foreclosure crisis to a global audience of policymakers and activists during the United Nations Habitat World Urban Forum (WUF) in Naples, Italy, in early September.
Woodhouse calls for society to build resilient citizens
Just days before it became public that U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney had criticized 47 percent of Americans as being ¿dependent on the government,¿ Emory University Law Professor Barbara Woodhouse espoused the important role a society should play in helping its citizens build resilience.
Harold J. Berman papers collection now open for research
The Harold J. Berman Papers, a collection of professional and personal papers from the life of Emory University's first Robert W. Woodruff Professor, is now open for research at Emory's Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library. Berman is considered to be the father of the modern study of the law and religion field. He died in 2007.
August
Polygamy law is focus of Witte's Library of Congress appointment
Emory University law professor John Witte, Jr. has been named the Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History at the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. Appointed by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, Witte is serving during the summer and fall of 2012.
CSLR lecture series to probe plight of vulnerable populations
An upcoming lecture series at Emory University will explore what happens to deeply needy populations when the modern welfare state begins to collapse. ¿When Law and Religion Meet 2012-2013: The Rights of the Needy¿ begins September 13 at Emory Law.
July
Senior fellow M. Christian Green writes on the effects of "Divorce Culture" on bystanders
Senior Fellow M. Christian Green recently published an article entitled `There but for the Grace¿: The Ethics of Bystanders to Divorce' in Propositions, a newsletter produced by the Center for Public Conversation of the Institute for American Values.
Law and religion alumna writes on the media, xenophobia, and a post 9/11 United States
Roslyn M. Satchel (JD/MDiv '01) recently co-authored an article entitled, 'Religion, Race, and the Fourth Estate: Xenophobia in the Media Ten Years after 9/11¿ published in the Spring 2012 issue of The Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice. A mass communication PhD candidate at Louisiana State University, Satchel examines the role of the media, often referred to as the 'Fourth Branch of Government,' in fueling stereotypes and capitalizing on fear, as a way to increase ratings and revenue.
Law and religion alum writes on hospitality as model for interreligious political dialogue
Silas W. Allard (JD/MTS ¿11) recently published an article entitled ¿In the Shade of the Oaks of Mamre: Hospitality as a Framework for Political Engagement between Christians and Muslims¿ in the journal Political Theology.
April
Perry says gay marriage is a human right
Catholic bishops have been in the news lately saying that the federal mandate that private insurers cover contraceptive services violates religious freedom.
New book is resource for resolving church conflict
A new book by CSLR Senior Fellow Paul R. Valliere offers a resource for resolving conflict in the church today. Conciliarism: A History of Decision-Making in the Church (Cambridge University Press, 2012) explores the movement of conciliarism, a way of ecclesial decision making in the Christian church, from the early church to modern times.
New book enlightens about no Establishment Clause
A forthcoming book edited by CSLR Director John Witte, Jr. and CSLR Senior Fellow T. Jeremy Gunn examines the rich, complex history of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which forbids the creation of a state-sanctioned religion.
CSLR alumni highlights
Sarah Gerwig-Moore (JD/MTS `02), associate professor of law at Mercer Law, has been awarded tenure. Her teaching and scholarship interests center around constitutional criminal law, appellate and post-conviction practice and procedure, prisoners¿ rights, and other practical matters relating to serving the public interest.
Witte honored by Library of Congress, Emory Law students
CSLR Director John Witte, Jr. has won two prestigious honors this spring: he's been appointed to the Scholars Council of the Library of Congress' Kluge Center, and Emory Law's Class of 2012 Student Bar Association has named him Most Outstanding Professor of the Year, the 11th time he will receive this award.
CSLR graduates five law and religion students
Congratulations to this year¿s Law and Religion graduates! During May 14 commencement ceremonies, Jenny Hernandez, Andy Mayo, and Jennifer Williams will receive Doctor of Law and Master of Theological Studies degrees. Mark Goldfeder and Anita Hayward will receive Master of Laws in Law and Religion degrees.
Scholars head into summer of national, global lecture tours
CSLR scholars are fanning out across the country and around the globe this summer to engage the national and world communities in discussions of urban decline, religious liberty, conditional and religious marriages, global justice, and numerous other topics of law and religion.
February
What did Jesus really say about marriage and divorce?
While many look to the Bible for guidance on matters of morality, including marriage and divorce, Professor Luke Timothy Johnson says mining the good book for what is ¿permissible¿ may be shortsighted.
January
Witte urges Muslims to follow Catholic, Jewish examples of adapting to Western law
On November 2, 2010, Oklahoma voters approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would prevent state courts from considering or using Muslim Shari`a law.