CSLR graduates four law and religion students |

Congratulations to this year’s Law and Religion graduates. During May 13 commencement ceremonies, Jennifer Heald Kidwell received the Doctor of Law and Master of Divinity Degree, Mark Goldfeder received the Doctor of Juridical Science Degree, and Shlomo Pill received the Master of Laws in Law and Religion degree.

Pursuing ordination in the United Methodist Church, Jennifer Heald Kidwell was drawn to a dual degree as a way to connect her passion for ministry with her desire to work for structural social change. Throughout her time at Emory, Heald Kidwell participated in the Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy clinics run by the Barton Child Law and Policy Center. With a specific interest in Native American law, she took several directed studies on the subject. Heald Kidwell received the Herman Dooyeweerd Award for Excellence in Law and Religion created in 1994 in honor of the distinguished 20th century Dutch jurist and theologian.

A prolific author, Mark Goldfeder has published 18 articles and presented 15 lectures or papers on law and religion topics during this year. Goldfeder has served as an adjunct professor at both Georgia State University and Emory’s department of religion.  For his stellar scholarship and promise, Goldfeder was this year’s recipient of the Eliza Ellison Prize for Leadership in Law and Religion, awarded each year to a student who has shown special initiative in leading law and religion studies within and beyond the classroom. The Ellison prize was created in 2009 in honor of Eliza Ellison, former CSLR Associate Director and Director of Publications. Goldfeder will continue at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) as a Spruill Family Senior Fellow teaching Jewish law.

Drawn to Emory because of the reputation of CSLR, Shlomo Pill focused his work on comparing Jewish and Islamic law and legal theory, hoping to illuminate the ways in which such work might impact interpretations of American law and Jurisprudence. Despite how partisan political climates can divide Islamic and Jewish communities, Pill believes a focus on the similarities in their respective law-based faith traditions, can help bring the two groups together. In the fall, Pill will continue his studies at Emory and CSLR having enrolled in the Doctor of Juridical Science degree program.

The CSLR community’s other graduate is Yvana Mols who graduated with a Juris Doctor having previously received a Master's degree in Philosophy from the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. While at Emory Mols co-founded the Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative Student Advisory Group. In addition, she served as as the Executive Symposium Editor of the highly respected Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal, one of the only student-run bankruptcy journals in the United States.