Judges and Their Religions

In this series, we provide different perspectives on religion and judging. Five contributors, academics and a U.S. federal judge explore religious diversity and the judiciary, interplays between religious convictions and judicial ethics, and the role of religion and religious beliefs in professional and personal biographies of judges.

The series starts with Jeremy Patrick’s elaboration on interplays between religious diversity and the composition of the High Court of Australia. David G. Campbell discusses public concerns about possible tensions between religious adherence and the judiciary oath and argues that religious devotion can be consistent with good judging. Based on the examples of Israel and Egypt, Andrea Pin demonstrates how judges’ religious law-illiteracy can give a secular push to legal systems with the religious component.

Based on the example of the South African Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, Christine Venter addresses the obligation of judges to separate their personal religious convictions and the legal reasoning they provide in their decisions. David Kenny explores the biography of Brian Walsh, a prominent Irish justice and a judge of the Strasbourg Court, and the role his Catholic background plays in his jurisprudence.

(more…)

Continue Reading Judges and Their Religions

The 28th Annual Law and Religion Symposium “A Time to Heal: Peace among Cultures; Understanding between Religions”

Jane Wise is an Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

The 28th Annual Law and Religion Symposium, sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and BYU Law School, was centered on “A Time to Heal: Peace among Cultures; Understanding between Religions.”

Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began the 28th Annual Law and Religion Symposium Sunday, October 3, 2021, with a discussion about healing and equal privileges of belief among all people. From a pre-recording at the G20 Interfaith Summit in Bologna, Italy, held in September,  panelists included Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Sister Sharon Eubank, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency and president of Latter-day Saint Charities, and Elder Jack N. Gerard, a General Authority Seventy. Brett G. Scharffs, a professor at BYU Law School and director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, moderated the discussion. This was the second time the symposium was hosted virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(more…)

Continue Reading The 28th Annual Law and Religion Symposium “A Time to Heal: Peace among Cultures; Understanding between Religions”

Summary of Remarks: Welcome and Overview

W. Cole Durham, Jr., retired in August 2019 as Susa Young Gates University Professor of Law at Brigham Young University, is Founding Director of the BYU Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies

The G20 has historically focused on global economic matters, growing out of the 2008 economic crisis. Since then, it has moved more toward the UN Sustainable Development goals, and in its annual meetings, the host country can choose the emphasis and theme of the meeting. The G20 Interfaith Forum has participated in the G20 process since 2014, contributing to a recognition that religious leaders and actors have a role to play in the formation and implementation of global policy. Religious voices must have an impact on policy at a global level. Around 80% of the world’s population is religiously affiliated in some way, so religious voices and actors play a very significant role in many aspects of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

(more…)

Continue Reading Summary of Remarks: Welcome and Overview