The 2014 Law and Religion Scholars Network (LARSN) Conference was held at Cardiff University Law School on 12 May and was attended by a great number of delegates both from the UK and from overseas. LARSN, which was set up by Cardiff's Centre for Law and Religion in 2008 to bring together academics interested in the study of law and religion, has continued to grow in popularity and now has over 270 members.
The enthusiasm of this community of scholars to share their research in the field of law and religion was reflected in the number of academics keen to present at the conference; this year over thirty papers were given throughout the day. There were some thematic panels, such as those which addressed religion and education, reasonable accommodation of religious belief, clergy employment and Islamic law. Other topics, including the relationship between religion and gender equality, the rights of religious minorities and indigenous people, and religion and human rights, also featured in various panels. In addition to these broad themes, particularly controversial issues – including the subject of ritual slaughter and the role of faith buildings in the community – were also addressed by delegates. The discussion of domestic, regional and international approaches to issues in law and religion, and the prominence of state-specific papers (which focused on the situations in countries such as Canada, China and Finland), gave proceedings a truly international feel. Overall, the variety of the papers provided a flavour of the innovative research being conducted in this area.
While the majority of papers were presented by legal scholars specialising in law and religion, this year the level of participation from law students and academics from other disciplines increased significantly. Notably, a variety of methodologies were used by delegates; some took a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon disciplines such as sociology, philosophy or theology to illuminate legal issues. For the first time in LARSN history a joint paper was presented at this conference, in which a philosopher and a lawyer offered complementary perspectives on the topic of secularism and secularity. The diversity of involvement in, and approaches to, issues in law and religion is testament to the ever-increasing importance of this sub-discipline.
Over lunch, delegates took advantage of the opportunity to engage in lively discussions, sharing ideas and their reactions to the morning's papers with each other. Following the afternoon's panels, the day concluded with an annual general meeting, chaired by Professor Norman Doe and organised by Helen Hall. It was noted that the growing popularity of the LARSN conference again necessitated parallel panels but there was a general desire among delegates for this to be avoided next year. The suggestion of a two-day conference was met with great support and is now to be explored by the committee as a possibility for the 2015 LARSN conference. The success of the LARSN doctoral students' conference, which was held at Oxford Brookes University in February, was also noted at the AGM and Professor Peter Edge spoke of plans to hold another conference in early 2015.
This year, the LARSN conference was followed by the Law and Religion Teaching and Research Conference on 13 May. This conference was divided into three plenary sessions: the first concerned the teaching of law and religion, the second explored the relationship between law and religion and family law, and the third concentrated on individual and collective religious freedom. The thought-provoking papers and ensuing discussions in this conference represented a natural and very worthwhile progression from the LARSN conference on the previous day.
The energy and enthusiasm of participants at both conferences suggest that teaching and research in the broad area of law and religion will continue to go from strength to strength in the coming years.
