Early modem Calvinists produced a rich tradition of natural law and natural rights thought that shaped the law and politics of Protestant lands. The German-born Calvinist jurist Johannes Althusius produced one of the most original Calvinist natural law theories at the turn of the seventeenth century. Althusius argued for the natural qualities of a…[Read more]

This is an appreciative review of a classic text on medieval church-state relations by the leading medieval historian of his day, Brian Tierney. The text documents the enduring power of medieval struggles for religious freedom and for balancing church-state relations. It also documents the precocious medieval development of modern legal concepts…[Read more]

This essay reviews the constructive biblical, historical, pastoral and legal argument for accepted same-sex marriage in churches, states, and liberal societies offered by a leading Protestant theologian and jurist.

This Article documents some of the sharp new conflicts over religion that have broken out in various countries of the world. Apostasy, Blasphemy, Conversion, Defamation, and Evangelization—these are the new alphabet of religious rights violation in a number of regions around the world. Occurring at the intersection of religion and international h…[Read more]

This chapter sketches the development of rights talk in those parts of the Western tradition inspired by the teachings of the Genevan Reformer, John Calvin (1509-1564). Building in part on classical and Christian prototypes, Calvin developed arresting new teachings on authority and liberty, duties and rights, and church and state that have had an…[Read more]

For all of his fame as a theologian and biblical commentator, John Calvin was first and foremost a jurist. Calvin’s attention to both theology and law would become a trademark of early Calvinism. Early modern Calvinists believed in law, as a deterrent against sin, an inducement to grace, and a teacher of Christian virtue. It is this legal side o…[Read more]

Both church and state in sixteenth-century Protestant Geneva helped to resolve local disputes, particularly over issues of sex, marriage, and family which dominated the proceedings during John Calvin’s tenure from 1541 to 1564. The Genevan Consistory, comprised of pastors and political officials, was a preliminary hearings court with power to s…[Read more]

The European Court of Human Rights has just upheld Italy’s policy of displaying crucifixes in its public school classrooms. In Lautsi v. Italy, an atheistic mother of two public school children challenged this policy, in place since 1924. After losing in the Italian courts, she appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that the p…[Read more]

Calvinist jurist Johannes Althusius (1557-1638) developed what he called a “universal theory” of law and politics for war-torn Europe. He called for written constitutions that separated the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of cities, provinces, nations, and empires alike and that guaranteed the natural rights and liberties of all sub…[Read more]

When Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams suggested that some “accommodation” of Muslim family law was “unavoidable” in England, he was bitterly criticized in the world press. But he was raising a whole series of hard but “unavoidable” questions about marital, cultural, and religious identity and practice in Western democratic societies committed t…[Read more]

This Article compares First Amendment religious liberty with prevailing international human rights norms on religious freedom, particularly as set out in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the 1989…[Read more]

This Article shows that the European Court of Human Rights case of Lautsi v. Italy, upholding the display of a crucifix in an Italian state school classroom, compares favorably to recent United States Supreme Court cases that have upheld the display of crosses and Decalogues on public property. Both the European Court and the Supreme Court now…[Read more]

The United States is the only nation, besides Somalia, not to ratify the 1989 United Nations Convention on Human Rights. This is ironic, given the leading role that American lawyers and diplomats played in creating the Convention. The leading opponents to ratification, it turns out, are conservative Christians who object to the idea of…[Read more]

This Essay analyzes the convergence of secularization theory and separation of church and state logic in mid-20th century American law and culture. It also shows that First Amendment law has moved beyond this separationist logic in recent opinions, and suggests a new integrative theory of religion, culture, and politics in its support.

This Article analyzes four early modern Protestant models of marriage that emerged in place of the medieval Catholic sacramental model. These are the Lutheran social model of marriage in Germany and Scandinavia, the Calvinist covenantal model in Geneva, France, the Netherlands, and Scotland, the Anglican commonwealth model in England and its…[Read more]

The study of law and religion has exploded around the world. This article, prepared in celebration of the silver anniversary of the Ecclesiastical Law Society, traces the development of law and religion study in the United States. Despite its long tradition of strict separation of church and state and despite its long allegiance to legal…[Read more]

A brief obituary reflecting on the life and work of David J. Bederman, K. H. Gyr Professor of International Law at the Emory University School of Law.

This Article analyzes the recent covenant marriage movement in America, and its deep roots in biblical teachings. It shows that the Hebrew Prophets, especially Malachi, described the covenant between God and his chosen people of Israel as a model for human marriages, featuring courtship and public celebration of the marriage, mutual love and…[Read more]

Parental consent to engagement and marriage was one of the staples of early Protestant theology and law. John Calvin and his Genevan colleague declared parental consent, like individual consent, to be indispensable to the validity of a minor’s engagement. The Geneva Consistory inquired closely into the engagements of minors, and routinely d…[Read more]

This Chapter introduces a new book-length study of the genesis and genius of the America’s constitutional commitment to granting religious freedom to all and religious establishments to none. The study analyzes the prescient movements for disestablishment in the colonies and the new states and the revolutionary new guarantees of religious f…[Read more]