2017 Conference: Religious Critiques of Law

2017 Conference: "Religious Critiques of the Law"

 Overview

In his book, American Lawyers and Their Communities, Tom Shaffer envisions a downtown street. On one side of the street is a house of worship; on the other is a courthouse. According to Shaffer, law schools train lawyers to look at the religious congregation from the courthouse—that is to analyze the problems the religious congregation creates for the law. Shaffer contends that too often, law schools ignore the possibility that there might be a view of the courthouse from the house of worship.

Prophetic witness is discounted in law teaching. Our part of the academy, more than any other, has systematically discouraged and disapproved of invoking the religious tradition as important or even interesting. It ignores the community of the faithful so resolutely that even its students who have come to law school from the community of the faithful learn to look at the [religious congregation] from the courthouse, rather than at the courthouse from [religious congregation].

Shaffer encourages lawyers to "walk across the street" and look at the courthouse from their religious congregation.

At this conference, some speakers will support Shaffer's notion that religious critiques of law are of important value to our legal discourse. Others will challenge that notion. It is our hope that the conference will draw speakers from a wide variety of religious traditions who will address the law from their tradition. We welcome speakers who might address the history of religious influence on law. Any subject area of law is fair game, but we want to encourage speakers to address subjects that do not ordinarily come in for religious critique—property, contracts, torts, etc. We hope some speakers will address the legal profession and legal education from religious perspectives. We hope that you can join us.

As usual, we are trying to do a national conference on a local budget. We will not be able to provide travel expenses. Our hope is that speakers' home institutions will be able to provide their expenses.

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If you have questions about the substance of the conference, contact Bob Cochran robert.cochran@pepperdine.edu or Michael Helfand michael.helfand@pepperdine.edu

For questions about the details of the conference, contact Jenna DeWalt jenna.dewalt@pepperdine.edu or (310) 506-6978.

The conference will be co-sponsored by Pepperdine's Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, the Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies[BROKEN LINK], and the Center for Faith and Learning[BROKEN LINK]. 

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All our best,

Bob Cochran & Michael Helfand

Robert F. Cochran, Jr.
Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law and
Director, Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar
Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics

Michael A. Helfand
Associate Professor of Law and
Associate Director, Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies