E-Book Overview
Discussion of the way in which law engages with religious difference often takes place within the context of a single jurisdiction. "Religion and Law: An Introduction", presents a comprehensive text for students, drawing on examples from across key Anglophone jurisdictions - the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, as well as international law, to explore a broad range of issues. Aimed at a non-legal readership, this book introduces the use of legal sources and focuses on factual situations as much as legal doctrine. Key issues arising from interaction of the religious individual and the State are discussed, as well as the religious organisation or community and the State. The interaction is explored through case studies of areas as diverse as the legal regulation of religious drug use, sacred spaces and sacred places, and claims of clergy misconduct. Taking a broad, non-jurisdictional approach to the key issues, in particular providing insights differing from the dominant US experiences and paradigms, this student-friendly textbook includes a clearly structured bibliography and clear guidance on how to approach relevant legal materials.
E-Book Content
RELIGION AND LAW Discussion of the way in which law engages with religious difference often takes place within the context of a single jurisdiction. Religion and Law: An Introduction, presents a comprehensive text for students, drawing on examples from across key Anglophone jurisdictions – the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, as well as international law, to explore a broad range of issues. Aimed at a non-legal readership, this book introduces the use of legal sources and focuses on factual situations as much as legal doctrine. Key issues arising from interaction of the religious individual and the State are discussed, as well as the religious organisation or community and the State. The interaction is explored through case studies of areas as diverse as the legal regulation of religious drug use, sacred spaces and sacred places, and claims of clergy misconduct. Taking a broad, non-jurisdictional approach to the key issues, in particular providing insights differing from the dominant US experiences and paradigms, this student-friendly textbook includes a clearly structured bibliography and clear guidance on how to approach relevant legal materials. Ashgate Religion, Culture & Society Series Series Editors: Dr Graham Harvey, The Open University, UK Professor Peter W. Edge, Oxford Brookes University, UK Lois Ann Lorentzen, Professor of Social Ethics, University of San Francisco, USA The Ashgate Religion, Culture & Society Series presents a focused cluster of high profile titles exploring the critical issues of contemporary society and culture, and relationships to and within living religions. Each book offers an accessible, stimulating new contribution to key topics. The series explores constructions of religion and religious issues from a range of perspectives, offering accessible texts by scholars based within and outside traditional religious studies who are able to bring immersion in their own disciplines to the study of contemporary religion, culture and society, enriching understanding across all three elements. The series will prove of particular value to higher level undergraduate students for their course studies in the areas of contemporary culture, society, media, law, and religious studies, as well as to academics, graduates and postgraduate readers worldwide. Religion and Law An Introduction PETER W. EDGE Oxford Brookes University, UK © Peter W. Edge 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordi