In recent years the scholarship of law and religion has become increasingly vibrant and diverse. This new collection of essays, based on presentations at a conference on Law, Religion and Social Change held at the Australian National University in 2007, examines the differing nature and ways in which law and religion interact and is a valuable addition to that literature. The range of issues addressed varies from the basis of religious freedom through to practical aspects of its implementation in multicultural societies, with examples spanning the US, Australasia, Europe and Israel. The theme of social change bridges most of the contributions, although some of the more theoretical or doctrinal chapters fall slightly out of bounds.
The philosophical contributions to the book are nicely balanced. In ‘The moral economy of religious freedom’ Lawrence G Sager argues that principle of equal liberty can found an attractive and robust basis on which to defend religious freedom without privileging religion over other beliefs. In similar vein Denise Meyerson in ‘Why religion belongs in the private sphere, not the public square’ defends liberalism against religious critics who dispute its claim to neutrality and the stipulation of public reason for those wishing to contribute to public debate. By contrast, in his chapter (‘Understanding the religion in freedom of religion’) Jeremy Webber directly disputes the idea that freedom of religion can be understood in most situations without giving value and recognition to the religious nature of the beliefs or practices in question.
The critique of equality also finds an echo in Yossi Nehushtan's claim that legal conscientious exemption clauses, whether secular or religious, are better understood to be grounded on tolerance rather than equality. A second case study on the recognition of days of rest in multicultural societies is treated from a historical and theoretical perspective by Ruth Gavison and Nahshon Perez.
Historical perspectives are also represented. Charlotte Smith's chapter ‘A very English affair: establishment and human rights in an organic constitution’ puts the UK Aston Cantlow case into broader perspective and argues that the tension between the Anglican version of establishment and modern human rights commitments makes reform unavoidable. Turning to the US, Michael W McConnell surveys the development of First Amendment jurisprudence since the second world war from the perspective of the influence of cultural conflict and Peter Radan considers the constitutional legacy of the famous 1925 Scopes trial concerning the teaching of evolution in Tennessee.
Legal decisions concerning the teaching of evolution, as well as the status of foetuses, also form the backdrop to Ngaire Naffine's reflections on religious influence on the nature of personhood in ‘Law's sacred and secular subjects’. Her notion of overlapping forms of personhood resonates with Margaret Davies' discussion of ‘Pluralism and law and religion’.
More technical legal questions are not neglected, however. In his contribution, Ernst Willheim outlines the challenges posed by the attempts in Australia to evaluate claims to protection of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs within the legal system, bearing in mind that a key feature of these beliefs is that they are secret or based on knowledge restricted to men or women. From a European vantage point Malcolm Evans' essay analyses the trends and tensions within the fast-developing European Court of Human Rights' jurisprudence on freedom of religion.
This is a rich collection of work skilfully assembled by the editors to reflect a mix of philosophical, religious and legal perspectives. It is likely to appeal most to postgraduate students and scholars in the field of law and religion. As Carolyn Evans observes in a helpful introductory chapter, religion is defying all predictions of its demise. On the evidence here the scholarship generated by its legal and constitutional implications is in rude health also.
