Law and Christianity
Christianity has had a long and complex relationship to law. Christian communities maintain well-established bodies of canon law and church government that govern the polity, property, doctrine, and liturgy of the church as well as the spiritual and moral lives of clergy and laity. For many centuries, Christian teachings shaped Western state law and legal theory, church-state relations, and many areas of social, economic, and political life.
The Law and Christianity focus area investigates the interaction of law and Christianity, historically and today, in the West and increasingly around the world. It promotes cutting-edge work on Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian contributions to public, private, penal, and procedural law and legal theory. With more than 30 years of work in this area, the Center's publications on law and Christianity include scores of leading individual book titles and journal symposia, as well as a major new Cambridge Studies in Law and Christianity book series.
The Center has hosted major international conferences on such diverse topics as "Christianity and Democracy in Global Context," "Christianity and Human Rights," "The Problem and Promise of Proselytism," "Christian Jurisprudence," and others. Our McDonald Distinguished Christian Scholars Lecture Series brings in distinguished figures from Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu to Mary Ann Glendon and Wolfgang Huber.
CSLR Study on Law and Ministry
Law impacts the activities of religious believers, clergy, communities, and organizations in numerous seen and unseen ways. The attention of the American public is focused on the church—and its relationship to the state—now more than ever. This multi-year study of Law and Ministry in the United States (“Study”), begun in Spring 2020, was generously funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and prepared by the Center for the Study of Law and Religion (“CSLR”) at Emory University.
Christian Legal Studies Project
This project has produced more than 40 publications and two major international conferences. Projects completed as part of Christian Legal Studies include Christianity and Democracy in Global Context; Christian Foundations of Religious Liberties and Rule of Law; the Integrative Jurisprudence of Harold J. Berman; Law, Religion and the Protestant Tradition; Christian Jurisprudence I; and the Western Legal Tradition.
Law and Christianity News
Witte issues report on Law and Christianity Series
John Witte, Jr. has released a publishing report on his Cambridge Studies in Law and Christianity Series, which aims to promote deep Christian reflection by leading scholars on the fundamentals of law and politics; to build further ecumenical legal understanding across Christian denominations; and to link and amplify the diverse and sometimes isolated Christian legal voices and visions at work in the global academy.
McDonald Agape Foundation commits $1M to Witte's work
The McDonald Agape Foundation has committed $1 million to extend CSLR Director John Witte, Jr.'s McDonald Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion through 2028. The gift will ensure the continuation of Witte's internationally renowned scholarship in law and Christianity as well as the 12-year relationship between Witte and the Foundation.
McDonald conference explores religious freedom
The fifth in the McDonald Distinguished Scholar Lectures on Christian Scholarship series asked "Is Religious Freedom Under Threat?" The conference was held at Christ College, hosted by the McDonald Centre and the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, and funded by the McDonald Agape Foundation. John Witte Jr. is pictured above with keynote lecturer Mary Ann Glendon, lecturer Nigel Biggar, and Peter McDonald of the McDonald Agape Foundation.
More News
McDonald lecture series culminates with religious freedom conference
Witte book on polygamy translated into Italian
Law and Christianity title explores illegal immigration
Witte and Hauk edit book on family law and Christianity
Witte book on Protestant Reformation translated into Polish
Witte receives honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University
Domingo publishes book on God and the secular legal system
Hauk joins CSLR as series editorial consultant and series editorial board member