When Law and Religion Meet: The Point of Convergence

Law. Religion. Do they have anything to say to each other? If so, what, and toward what end? And is the notion of productive dialogue between these two fields not surprising but essential? Long considered unlikely bedfellows at best and, at worst, outright opponents, law and religion have been meeting in significant ways, thanks to the seminal and ongoing work of Emory Universitys Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR), where scholars worldwide come together for this express purpose. Neither belligerently butting heads nor cozying up for a tete-a-tete, representatives of these two disciplines are daring to look at the big questions that bridge their domains - and are daring to propose ways of working together. These encounters go way beyond verbal sparring and schmoozing. Joining the ranks of law and religion professors at CSLR conferences are the leaders of major religions in the U.S. - Judaism, Islam, and multifaceted Christianity - along with psychologists, sociologists, biologists, and policy makers. Commemorating CSLRs twenty-fifth anniversary, When Law and Religion Meet traces what motivated the Centers beginnings, what has impelled its work over the last quarter century, and what fuels the trajectory of law and religion, both separately and together, as they continue in productive dialogue. This pithy, illustrated volume is one that a wide range of readers will want to skim, explore, and return to.