Posted on by annicchino

Heimbach-Steins on the German Circumcision Case

In May 2012, a regional court in Cologne ruled that the circumcision of a boy, carried out for religious reasons, qualified as a crime under German law. The court reasoned that the child’s right to physical integrity trumps religious and parental rights—a decision that greatly concerned Germany’s Jewish and Muslim communities. The decision is available in German here and in English in an official and abbreviated version here.

In December 2012,  the ReligioWest project at the European University Institute sponsored a lecture by Marianne Heimbach-Steins (Institut für Christliche Sozialwissenschaften- Universität Münster) on the decision and the general topic. She has now published the paper for ReligioWest. Here’s the abstract:

In May 2012, a German court in Cologne ruled that circumcising young boys represents grievous bodily harm. This decision, which touched upon the questions of freedom of religious practice, identity and children’s rights, was condemned by Jewish and Muslim representatives in Germany, but it was also widely and controversially debated by civil society and politicians. The German Parliament recently passed legislation protecting circumcision as a religious practice, but the debate is likely to continue. In this paper, Marianne Heimbach-Steins, director of the department of Christian Social Ethics at the University of Münster (Germany), discuss this case and its implications for the definition  of religious freedom.

Her working paper can be downloaded here.

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Hurst on Hosanna-Tabor and Separationism

Alan Hurst (BYU – J. Reuben Clark Law School) has posted Hosanna-Tabor and the Exaggerated Decline of Separationism. The abstract follows.

Scholars generally agree that the separation of church and state, as an approach to the Religion Clauses, has been in decline for decades. Yet the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School v. EEOC is strongly and unanimously separationist, and none of scholars’ explanations for separationism’s decline adequately explain Hosanna-Tabor.

I argue that previous scholarship fails to explain Hosanna-Tabor because it has been insufficiently attentive to what “separationism” means and the ways in which separationist approaches to the Religion Clauses can differ from each other. It has therefore failed to appreciate the ways in which the Supreme Court’s separationist principles have evolved rather than being repudiated, in particular the Court’s increased willingness to see free private choice as an adequate buffer between church and state and the Court’s increasingly narrow understanding of what counts as religion for separationist purposes.

These evolving aspects of the Court’s approach to separationism help make sense of Hosanna-Tabor, in which free private choice was not an issue and the church’s interests at stake were clearly part of the religious sphere. Further, they lead to a few predictions about the future of separationism and recommendations for pro-separationist scholars and activists.

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Pierceson, “Same-Sex Marriage in the United States”

This month, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers published Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: The Road to the Supreme Court by Jason Pierceson (University of Illinois, Springfield). The publisher’s description follows.Same-Sex Marriage in the United States

Same-sex marriage has become one of the defining social issues in contemporary U.S. politics. State court decisions finding in favor of same-sex relationship equality claims have been central to the issue’s ascent from nowhere to near the top of the national political agenda. Same Sex Marriage in the United States tells the story of the legal and cultural shift, its backlash, and how it has evolved over the past 15 years.

There is a clear story of jurisprudential evolution with regards to same-sex marriage from Hawaii, through Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, and, remarkably, Iowa in 2009. This book aids in a classroom examination of the legal, political, and social developments surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage in the United States. While books about same-sex marriage have proliferated in recent years, few, if any, have provided a clear and comprehensive account of the litigation for same-sex marriage, and its successes and failures, as this book does.

Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Lecture: “Global Institutions of Religion” (March 26)

On March 26 in Washington, Georgetown’s Berkley Center will host a book talk by Katherine Marshall, “Global Institutions of Religion: Ancient Movers, Modern Shakers”:

Religious institutions play diverse and often poorly understood roles in world affairs, even though many were among the first organizations to gain a global reach. A new book, Global Institutions of Religion: Ancient Movers, Modern Shakers, by Katherine Marshall, fills a gap in current literature by examining the wide range of bodies that govern and coordinate religious communities, their relations with other transnational institutions, and their role in the world today.

Marshall will discuss her latest book in the context of her career as a practitioner and scholar, and offer thoughts on the religious dimensions of issues such as human rights, human security, climate change, international development, and humanitarian relief.

Details are here.

Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Panel: “The Muslim Brotherhood and the West” (March 20)

The Foreign Policy Research Institute will host a briefing, “The Muslim Brotherhood and the West,” on March 20 in Washington:

Few observers foresaw the Arab Spring, but it should not have surprised anyone that the Islamist movements–the most organized movements in the Arab world–became the main beneficiaries of the turmoil that ensued. Islamism, in its gradualist and pragmatic approach embodied by the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots worldwide, seems ready to reap the rewards of its three decades-old decision to abandon violence and focus on grassroots activities. This monumental change has created many concerns among liberals, religious minorities and, more generally, all non-Islamists in the countries where Islamists have won. In addition, Arab states ruled by non-Islamist regimes have expressed concern. The former worry that Islamist ideology–even in its more contemporary, pragmatic form–remains deeply divisive and anti-democratic, often at odds with their values and interests. The latter believe that on foreign policy issues, most of the positions of various Brotherhood-inspired parties are on a collision course with the policies of established regimes in the region.

The event will be webcast live. Details are here.

Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Call for Papers: “Religion, Democracy, and Equality”

The International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) will host its third annual conference, “Religion, Democracy, and Equality,” in Richmond this coming August and has issued a call for papers on the following themes:

  • Religious pluralism and treatment of religious minorities
  • Religion and anti-discrimination norms
  • Hate speech, hate crimes, and religious minorities
  • Religion and gender issues.

Details are here.

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Rogers, “Aquinas and the Supreme Court”

This May, Wiley will publish Aquinas and the Supreme Court: Biblical Narratives of Jews, Gentiles and Gender by Eugene F. Rogers, Jr. (University of North Carolina).  The publisher’s description follows.ebook_k

This new work clarifies Aquinas’ concept of natural law through his biblical commentaries, and explores its applications to U.S. constitutional law.

  • The first time the use of Aquinas on the U.S. Supreme Court has been explored in depth, and its applications tested through a rigorous reading of the biblical commentaries
  • Shows how key judgments in the Supreme Court have rested on medieval natural law, and applies critical gender theory to discuss problems with these applications
  • Offers new research data to give a different picture of Aquinas and natural law, and a fresh take on Aquinas’ biblical commentaries
  • New research based on passages in the biblical commentaries never before available in English
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Boroujerdi (ed.), “Mirror for the Muslim Prince”

This month, Syracuse University Press published Mirror for the Muslim Prince: Islam and the Theory of Statecraft edited by Mehrzad Boroujerdi (Syracuse University).  The publisher’s description follows.Muslim Prince

In this volume, a group of distinguished scholars reinterpret concepts and canons of Islamic thought in Arab, Persian, South Asian, and Turkish traditions. They demonstrate that there is no unitary “Islamic” position on important issues of statecraft and governance. They recognize that Islam is a discursive site marked by silences, agreements, and animated controversies. Rigorous debates and profound disagreements among Muslim theologians, philosophers, and literati have taken place over such questions as: What is an Islamic state? Was the state ever viewed as an independent political institution in the Islamic tradition of political thought? Is it possible that a religion that places an inordinate emphasis upon the importance of good deeds does not indeed have a vigorous notion of “public interest” or a systematic theory of government? Does Islam provide an edifice, a common idiom, and an ideological mooring for premodern and modern Muslim rulers alike? The nuanced reading of the Islamic traditions provided in this book will help future generations of Muslims contemplate a more humane style of statecraft.

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The Second International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference (April 11-13)

On April 11-13, the Pontifical Council for Culture, NeoStem Inc., and The Stem for Life Foundation will host a second international conference on adult stem cell research entitled: “Regenerative Medicine — A Fundamental Shift in Science & Culture.” In addition to raising awareness about present opportunities in existing therapies and reducing misunderstandings about the field, the conference aims to  foster dialogue among researchers, physicians, philanthropists, faith leaders and policy makers to identify unmet medical needs that can benefit from the development of stem cell therapies. The conference will be held at the Vatican. The conference website can be found here.

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The Top Five New Law & Religion Papers on SSRN

From SSRN’s list of most frequently downloaded law and religion papers posted in the last 60 days, here are the current top five:

1. Suffer the Teenage Children: Child Sexual Abuse in Church Communities by Patrick Parkinson (U. of Sydney – Faculty of Law) [212 downloads]

2. Rethinking Religious Reasons in Public Justification  by Andrew F. March (Yale U.) [160 downloads]

3. Queering Schools, GSAs and the Law: Taking on God, by Donn Short (U. of Manitoba Faculty of Law) [136 downloads]

4. The Causes and Cures of Unethical Business Practices – A Jewish Perspective, by Steven H. Resnicoff  (DePaul U. College of Law) [133 downloads]

5.Bankrupting the Faith, by Pamela Foohey, (U. of Illinois College of Law) [125 downloads]