Religious Freedom and the Courts
James T. Richardson is Emeritus Foundation Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies, University of Nevada, Reno.
This post is part of a series on the sociology of religious freedom.
A Sociology of Religious Freedom, coauthored by Olga Breskaya, Giuseppe Giordan, and James T. Richardson, offers in part a sociological perspective on the theoretical underpinnings of the role played by the courts, especially in Western societies, in determining the meaning and implementation of religious freedom. It first explicates how and why this crucial role for the courts has evolved in recent decades and then explores specific trends and landmark cases in major judicial systems in the United States and in Western Europe, focusing on the role courts have played in the protection of religious freedom.
