Law and Religion in Judaism, Christianity and Islam

<p>Are you curious about how law and religion have shaped societies throughout history? What happens when religious and secular law come into conflict?</p><p>This course explores the relationship between law and religion within Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. You will follow the development of these traditions from antiquity to the present and learn how each religion has shaped its own ideas and practices concerning law and justice. The course consists of four modules and begins by examining what “law” and “religion” actually mean, and how these concepts are understood within both legal studies and the study of religion. </p><p>In the second module, you move into the long Late Antiquity (0-1000 CE), when the three religions emerged and interacted with one another as well as with the Greco-Roman intellectual world and legal system. </p><p>In the third module, you study specific locations and contemporary case studies where religion and law intersect: in the home, in religious spaces, within states, and in courts. The third module of the course may also include a study trip abroad. </p><p>In the fourth and final module, you focus on contemporary discussions that may concern human rights, freedom of religion and belief, and the use of religious rhetoric in legal debates.</p>