The J. Reuben Clark Law Society is hosting a Religious Liberty writing competition for law students in the United States. The competition provides an opportunity for second and third year law students to write scholarly papers on the topic of religious liberty under the United States Constitution. The submission deadline is January 31, 2026, and selection will take place by the middle of March. Details below:
Courtesy of our friends at BYU’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies, I’m happy to announce the seventh annual Religious Liberty Student Writing Competition, co-sponsored by the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Details below (n.b.: prizes seem to be on the heftier side this year!). A prideful aside: one of our inaugural fellows, Andrew Hamilton, was awarded this prize a few years ago.
Religious Liberty Student Writing Competition
DEADLINE: JULY 1, 2016
Purpose
To promote legal and academic studies in the field of religious liberty by law students and students pursuing related graduate studies. Students who have graduated from law school but who are not yet practicing law due to clerkships or other similar pursuits are also invited to submit papers.
Form
Scholarly paper relating to the topic of domestic or international religious liberty, broadly or narrowly construed, consisting of 9,000-13,000 words, including footnotes. Eligible papers must be typed, thoroughly cited and presented in a format suitable for publication, with no additional editing required. Papers must conform to Bluebook requirements and may include footnotes. Papers prepared for academic coursework are permitted.
Submission
All papers must be submitted on or before July 1, 2016. Papers should be submitted by e-mail to papers@ jrclsdc.org in pdf and/or docx formats. A current resume should also be included. You will receive e-mail confirmation of your submission. Questions regarding submission may be directed to papers@jrclsdc.org.
Awards
Top entries will receive the following awards:
FIRST PLACE $4000 cash award
SECOND PLACE $3000 cash award
THIRD PLACE $2000 cash award
HONORABLE MENTION Four $1000 cash awards
Selection
All papers will be reviewed for their conformity to the above requirements and for their substantive treatment of the topic. Awards will be presented at the Religious Liberty Award Dinner in Washington, DC on Thursday, October 6, 2016.